


This Little Pig

by jinxed_wood



Category: Prodigal Son (TV 2019)
Genre: Case Fic, Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-01-24
Updated: 2021-02-07
Packaged: 2021-03-16 04:08:40
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 3
Words: 25,471
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28950171
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/jinxed_wood/pseuds/jinxed_wood
Summary: Desperate to get away from his life for a few hours, Malcolm inserts himself into a seemingly routine case. Things turn lethal pretty fast...
Comments: 27
Kudos: 72





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> The South Brother Island is real and most of its history depicted in this story is accurate - except for the part where the city sold it back into private ownership in 2013! That's called artistic license...

Deep down, Malcolm knew this was a bad idea.

Doorstepping Gil on his way into the precinct probably wouldn’t win Malcolm any favours but It had been fourteen hours since Malcolm had found out about his father’s escape from Claremont and he still couldn’t quiet his mind. All the tricks he’d taught himself over the years to manage at least the outwards signs of his PTSD were slipping through his fingers like sand because Martin Whitly, the Surgeon, was free once again and that meant only one thing, his days were numbered. 

While Malcolm Whitly, the son, still nursed a few delusions about his father’s love for him, Malcolm Bright, the profiler, did not. His father ‘s paternal overtures were headed in only one direction because, like most psychopaths with narcissistic traits ,Martin Whitly wanted a son in his own image, and if he couldn’t have that then he'd show his displeasure in the only way a predatory psychopath can.

Which is why he was now stomping his feet on the front steps of the precinct, trying to ward off the cold, while carrying an an extra cup of coffee - black, two sugars - in the hopes that it might sweeten Gil up enough to go to bat for him with the FBI task force. He knew better than to expect they’d let him join them in the field, but maybe they might let him help in the situation room. After all, his former employers might think he’s crazy but they also knew he’s one of the best profilers to come out of Quantico in the last decade. 

And with seven of Claremont’s most psychotic inmates now back on the streets of New York, four of which were formally classed as serial killers, they could do with the help 

“Malcolm, what are you doing out here?” Malcolm looked up to see Dani trot down the steps to him, her winter coat pulled around her slim frame. 

“Waiting for Gil,” he said, lifting the extra coffee in salute. “I’m hoping that a sip of actual decent coffee instead of that swill the machine churns out might make him see the department's decision to send me home in a new light.”

Dani sighed. “Malcolm, you know that’s not going to happen, you’re too close to the case and, besides, you’re supposed to be at your mother’s _._ ” 

“I know,” he said, “But I've been cooped up in that house with her for over twelve hours and I can’t do it anymore. I’m too manic, and my mother has crossed that line from controlling to shrewish…and neither of us handle stress very well.”

“Really? I didn’t notice,” Dani said dryly. 

Malcolm let out a huff of a laugh. “Yes, I know, we’re rather predictable in our dysfunction but it wouldn’t make me any less useful in the situation room. I think it’s fair to say I have a unique insight into my father’s psyche, and they must have figured out by now that the only part of his old life my father had clung onto over the last two decades,is the belief that he was the consummate family man. Sooner or later, he’s going to come looking for me, so what better place to have their bait than right here at the precinct!”

“Malcolm, they know all this,” she said impatiently, her eyes scanning the street. “Which is why they put a car out in front of your mother’s home. “How did you manage to slip by them, by the way?”

“Tunnels,” Malcolm said. “The sub basement area is riddled with them, which is why a patrol car out front really isn’t going to help you if you want to catch my father.” Dani closed her eyes. He was pretty sure she was counting to ten under her breath but he thought it might be rude to call her on it. 

“We’ll put another patrol car on the tunnel exit,” she said. “Please tell me there is only one exit?”

“That we know of.”

“Perfect,” she sighed, her eyes looking over his shoulder again. “Listen, I have to go.” Malcolm’s eyes followed hers, catching Edrisa’s brightening smile as she noticed him, her coroner’s bag by her feet. Malcolm watched as she snatched it up and jogged up the steps. 

“Are you coming with us?” she asked. “I didn’t think this would be your kind of case but the more the merrier, I say.”

“You’ve got a case?” Malcolm asked, wincing at the plaintive tone in his voice. He sounded like a kid who’d lost his puppy. 

“Not really,” Dani said. “Some old guy died in his sleep and his family donated to the Mayor’s last election so they’re getting the kid gloves treatment.”

Malcolm frowned. “Am I missing something?”

“A couple of billion,” Edrisa said cheerfully. “Or maybe not,” she added, remembering who she was talking to. “It’s normal to have a medical examiner sign off on a death that happens suddenly at home, but usually it’s the body that comes to us, not the other way around.”

Malcolm turned to Dani. "That explains why Edrisa is going, but you?”

“His son kicked up a lot of fuss at city hall and insisted this wasn’t a rubber stamp job. Apparently there is a new will and some of the family members are very unhappy about it. He insisted there was foul play.

“And what do you think?” Malcolm prompted.

“I think Robert Alderson was eighty two years old and had a dodgy heart, and his son is more worried about his inheritance than his father’s death,” Dani said wryly.

“Robert Alderson,” Malcolm repeated. “Very old money. They even put the Milton fortune to shame.” He frowned, his mother had been friendly with one of the Aldersons before, well, everything. What had been her name again? Something beginning with a B. “I’ll go with you.”

“Excuse me?” Dani said. “You can’t go with us, Malcolm. You’re on leave, remember?”

“I was sent home,” Malcolm said. “There is a difference. Listen, I can’t stay at home, there is a good chance my mother might actually kill me if we’re cooped up together for another twelve hours, and I’m barred from the one place I could actually be of some help, so why not? An extra pair of eyes, can’t hurt, can it? And at least this way you can keep an eye on me and make sure I’m not up to no good.”

Dani rolled her eyes but pulled out her phone. “I have to run it by Gil first,” she warned.

“Oh good, tell him I have some of the good stuff waiting for him,” he said, raising the cup again. “A caffeinated detective is a happier detective.”

“True,” Dani said, swiping the cup from his hand and taking a long sip. “Oh hey, this _is_ good. She stepped away to talk to talk to Gil, no doubt letting him know about the tunnels as well.

Trying not to eavesdrop, Malcolm used his now free hand to pick up Edrisa’s bag. “Wow, what do you have in here?”

“Oh, you know, the usual.” Which probably meant it wasn’t usual at all but Edrisa was extremely good at her job so he wasn’t about to call her on it.

“Okay, you’re good,” Dani said, rejoining them, and he studied her face as she tucked her phone away. Something was up, but he couldn’t put his finger on it. 

“Something happened?” he asked.

“Bright, just leave it,” Dani said. “You know I can’t share details about the case.” The _case_ , it sounded so innocuous, Malcolm knew this was the calm before the storm. His father never committed to anything without having a plan for every eventuality.

But maybe a few hours spent annoying one of the one percent of the one percenters might help him slough off the feeling of dread that threatened to engulf him, and allow him to _think_ again. 

Because his family couldn’t stay hidden behind armed protection forever. Sooner or later, his father would get his claws into one of them, be it him, or his mother or - worse - Ainsley, and then he might not be able to stop what happened next. 

He couldn’t let that happen. 

* * *

“Where are we going?” Malcolm asked, as they left Central Park behind in the rear view mirror, and swept through Harlem. 

“Didn't Dani tell you?” Adrisa piped up excitedly. “We’re going to the Alderson’s family home - on their _private Island._ ”

“Isn’t this a little out of our purview?”

The Southern Brother is technically part of the Bronx Borough but only barely,” Adrisa piped up, leaning forward from the back seat. “The Alderson House is the only property on it and the rest is a nature preserve. There hasn’t been a cop out there since the old Ruppert house was burned down in 1909.”

“In other words, the powers that be in the Bronx have passed the buck,” Dani said. “But nobody wants to say no to them either. So the Mayor called in a favour with our department chief and here we are.”

“Huh,” Malcolm said. “Weren’t both of the Brother islands bought by the state about a decade back?”

“Oh my God, imagine if we ended up going to the Northern Brother,” Adrisa said suddenly, failing to keep the excitement out of her voice. “Quarantine Island, the last resting place of Typhoid Mary. Now _there_ is an Island with History.”

“I thought that too,” Dani said, after taking a moment to decide she didn’t need to comment on Adrisa’s history lesson. “But apparently back in 2013, the Aldersons leaned on the city pretty hard for the deeds, and as the city was pretty cash strapped at the time, they obliged.”

“Definitely a family used to getting their own way,” Malcolm mused. It was becoming clear why Dani was going with Edrisa, she was going to be her back up in more ways than one. 

Dani just nodded. “Apparently their helicopter isn’t back from the Hampton's yet, so we’re taking a patrol boat out there. Brace yourself.” Malcolm wasn’t sure if she was saying he should brace himself for the boat or the family but it seemed like good advice either way. His cell buzzed and he pulled it out of his coat, frowning at the ID. His mother was being most persistent. He hit the reject button and tucked it away again. A moment later, it began to buzz again. 

Dani snaked him a look. “Your mother?”

“My mother,” he admitted, not seeing the point in lying.

“She’s just worried about you. You should answer.”

Malcolm just smiled in answer. How could he explain the fraught relationship he had with his mother? He loved her dearly, but Jessica’s Whitly’s idea of love tended to roll over you with the force of a mack truck when she was this wound up. “Perhaps later,” he allowed. His phone buzzed again, this time it was a text.

**‘In the last hour, Mother has fedexed me a gun, a rape whistle and some kind of pepper spray that I’m pretty sure is illegal in New York State. DON’T DO THIS TO ME. ANSWER YOUR DAMN PHONE.’**

“Ainsley,” he said, tucking it away again as Dani and Edrisa both looked at him expectantly. “Mother is being Mother.” Dani smirked but said nothing, while Edrisa looked uncomfortable even at the thought of entertaining the idea of criticising his family. 

“We’re here. ” Dani pulled into a parking space and Malcolm clambered out, eyeing the green expanse of Randall’s fields. A patrol boat was moored up against the shore on their side of the road, a boarding plank already extended. Something told him this wasn’t a usual stopping point. 

“Gil knows a guy,” Dani said, seeing his face. 

“Doesn’t he always,” Malcolm said lightly, grabbing Edrisa’s bag from the trunk. What the hell did she have in this thing?

* * *

The Southern Brother was only five miles from the shore but it still took over a quarter of an hour to make it to it’s small dock. “Are you sure you don’t want me to wait around to bring you back?” the pilot asked, having taken a shine to Dani.

“No, it’s okay, they’re flying us back,” Dani said, which was news to Malcolm but he supposed he couldn’t object, he hadn’t been exactly invited on this expedition. 

“Suit yourself,” the pilot said, as he eyed the Skiff moored to the other side of the dock. “I’d have thought these guys would have something a little sturdier tied up here.”

“I guess they thought the Helicopter was sturdy enough,” Edrisa piped up. 

The pilot gave her a wry look. “With their money, they could have their own fleet out here.”

Malcolm looked around. He’d done a swift google search on the way here but it had revealed nothing more than a small summary of the Island’s history, and a few aerial maps that showed a lot of trees and a beach on the other side of the island. The images must have been a few years old because the dock hadn’t been in them and nether had a house. Speaking of which…

“I don’t see the house,” he said aloud. 

“It’s inside the treeline,” the pilot supplied, “about half a mile in.”

“A house on a private island without a view of the water?” Malcolm asked. “Weird.”

“Weird about sums them up,” the Pilot agreed, as he unmoored the boat and started the engine. “Good luck.”

They watched the boat speed back across the water, and Malcolm couldn’t help but feel a moment of trepidation as he realised they were trapped upon the Island until the Aldersons saw fit to let them go. “Beatrice,” he said, as the name of mother’s old school friend rose to the surface.

“Beatrice Cambridge,” Dani said. “You know her?” 

“My mother did,” he said. He had a dim memory of a blonde, overly thin woman, who wore a lot of white and cream, and only wore pearls. She wasn’t the kind of woman who talked to children, or even deigned to see them - unless, they were their own, of course. Malcolm seemed to remember a little girl around Ainsley’s age. She’d been quite sweet, surprisingly.

Unfortunately, he couldn’t remember much more than that. It turned out that children weren’t the only people Beatrice Cambridge ignored, the wife of a convicted criminal neatly fell into that same category.

“Oh dear, you have that expression on your face,” Edrisa said. “She can’t be that bad, can she?”

Malcolm wondered how he should phrase it. “From what I remember, she’s the textbook definition of a wealthy WASP; Elitist, obsessed with her family’s status in the world, and willing to do just about anything to preserve it. Not evil, per se, but definitely dangerous, given the right circumstances.”

“Wonderful,” Dani said. “Well, looks like they’re not picking us up, so I guess we should start walking. 

The tree lined lane was beautifully kept, the oaks and sycamores swaying above then as they walked. It was quite peaceful, Malcolm thought. The quiet before the storm. “So how do we play this?” he asked. 

“We’re just here to escort the Medical examiner to the body,” Dani said. “We’ll ask the family if they’re willing to be interviewed, and hopefully rule out the possibility of foul play as quickly as possible.”

“I don’t see how we tell them that definitively if they refuse to properly release the body to us,” Edrisa said, then paused. “I mean, I’ll probably be okay _,_ I came prepared. I even brought this really nifty little electron microscope that I can hook up to my laptop and a field blood test kit that’s pretty comprehensive, so unless they used a blow dart or something - oh my god, wouldn't that be so cool? - I think we’ll be okay.”

“Good to know,” Malcolm said, at least he now knew why her bag was so heavy. 

“Holy Shit,” Dani suddenly burst out, before collecting herself. “That is quite a place.”

Malcolm’s gaze followed hers and he stopped as he took it all in. “It’s a place all right,” he said, as he stared at the massive stone building ahead of them. He didn’t know what architectural addition was the most incongruous, the turrets or the castellations. The monstrosity even has a gate tower with a portcullis. It was the most nightmarish reimagining of Medieval Architecture he’d ever seen

“Cool,” Edrisa breathed. “I wonder if it has a dungeon?”

Something told Malcolm that this place definitely had a dungeon. At least they’d had enough restraint to not add a moat. “I heard the old man had gone a bit eccentric towards the end, but this is….wow.”

The trees thinned out, revealing a rolling grass lawn that seemed to span around the house, and the portcullis was raised, revealing a Jeep parked in the courtyard just beyond the curtain wall. “We may need a new plan,” Malcolm said softly. “These people are definitely not the type to react well to the word no.”

“Don’t worry, I can play the part of the subservient public servant,” Dani said. “I’ve seen Gil do itenough times.”

“Good, good,” Malcolm said, nodding before abruptly stopping himself as Dani eyed him. Was he being too Brightish again?. “It’s probably best they don’t know who I am. It might throw them off a little, and not in a good way,” he said. “Good thing I haven’t seen Beatrice since I hit puberty so it should be all good.”

As if on queue, his phone began to buzz again and Edrisa and Dani sighed as one as he let it ring out. “You should answer it,” Edrisa siad. “She isn’t going to give up until you do.”

They were right, of course, but while Malcolm could dispassionately admit that to himself, the urge to stick his fingers in his ears and ignore her was as powerful now as it was when he was twelve years old. Reluctantly, he pulled out his phone and then frowned when he realised it was an unknown number. “Malcolm Bright?”

“ _Malcolm, my boy_!”

Ice ran through Malcolm’s veins as he recognised the voice, his mind flashing to the night his father had been arrested. _I will always love you because we’re the same._ “Dr Whitly,” he eventually got out, and Dani and Edrisa stiffened beside him. “I wish I could say this was unexpected.” He watched as Dani stepped away and started hissing into his phone, no doubt trying to start a trace on the call. Something told him she would be fresh out of luck on that. His father might have been behind bars for the last couple of decades but he did try to keep up with the times. Malcolm didn’t doubt his father knew the police could track cell tower usage. 

“O _h, now, Malcolm, don’t be like that_ ,” he said. _“Especially as our relationship is now entering a new phase. I’m free now, boy, and we can at last begin to truly bond like I wanted us to for all those years. It’s going to be wonderful, just you see - by the way, where are you at the moment, I can’t seem to find you._ ” The new, careful pitch to his voice told him all he needed to know. His father had gone looking for him and, when he’d come up empty, had decided on a more direct tactic.

“I’m out on a case,” he said.

 _“Oh, a new murder? Tell me all about it,_ ” he said.

Malcolm raised an eyebrow at Dani, who spun her hand in the universal signal for _‘keep him going_ ’.

“Well, it’s a funny thing really, we’re really not sure it’s a murder yet,” he said. “But apparently there is a will and the family are convinced there was foul play, so-”

 _“Don’t tell me you’re investigating the death of old Robert Alderson?”_ his father said, not even bothering to keep the glee out of his voice. “ _Well, if there was ever a man who had it coming, it was him. He once made a pass at your mother, you know, and she was still in high school at the time. Atrocious behaviour, there are standards to maintain, after all.”_

Ah yes, his father the serial killer had standards. Malcolm tried not to let the image of his mother trying to fend of a middle aged letch in high school intrude on his mind as he forged ahead. “How did you learn about Robert Alderson’s death?”

“ _Well, it’s all over the internet, dear boy_ ,” Martin said. “ _No doubt that’s William’s work. He probably has his lawyers working on overturning the will as we speak, this is just the opening salvo.”_

“Did you know him?” Malcolm asked, it hadn’t occurred to him that William and Martin knew each other but he supposed it made sense.They ran in the same circles, after all.

“ _Money mad_ ,” Martin said, “ _and also doesn’t know how to keep his hands to himself. Like father, like son, as they say. Well, you'd know all about that._ ”

Malcolm let that one go. “Anything else I need to know?”

 _“Well, I don’t know about Robert’s second wife,_ ” Martin said. _“But there were rumours about the first one. Apparently her first husband, the one before Robert, died under some very suspicious circumstances.”_

"A black widow,” Malcolm mused. "Interesting."

 _.”Isn’t it though? Well, I have to dash, you know how it is. I’ll see you when you get back from the Island.”_ Malcolm’s throat went dry, he knew better than to believe it was an accidental slip. His father had been telling him he knew where he was. 

“Please tell me you managed to trace his call?” he said.

Dani shook her head. “No luck.”

“Great, just great.” He stabbed at his cell, and heaved a sigh of relief when his mother picked up.

_“Malcolm, it’s about time. I was just talking to Gil and he said you’ve gone haring off to the new Alderson house. What were you thinking? You need to get back here right now-”_

“Mother,” he interjected. “Martin has been watching the house. I need you to step out onto the street and head to the patrol car outside. Ask one of the officers to accompany back inside. Is Ainsley with you yet?”

“ _What? No, she isn't. Why, is she in danger?”_

Malcolm winced at the panicked edge to her voice. “Relax, I’m sure Gil has someone watching Ainsley too.” I glanced at Dani, who nodded in reassurance. “I’ll get them to bring her to the house.” He hung up. “Sorry,” he said, as he began to ring Ainsley’s number “Just give me a few moments.”

“Sure,” Edrisa said, a worry line forming between her eyes. “Take whatever time you need.”

“ _Malcolm, where are you? You can’t leave me to deal with mother alone_ -”

“Father has been watching us,” Malcolm said.

“ _How do you know that? Has been in contact with you? What am I saying, of course he’s been in contact with you,”_ Ainsley said, the words practically tumbling out of her. He could hear the wheels turning in her mind.

“Ainsley, whatever you’re thinking about right now, stop. I need you to get to mother’s right now. I’ll join you as soon as I’m finished here.”

_“What? Oh no you don’t. You’re not going to lock me up with Mother while you run about town, solving murders. We share the pain, remember?”_

“I’ll be there soon, I promise,” Malcolm said. “Just let the officers watching you take you to the house.”

“ _Malcolm, no-_ ”

Malcolm hung up, knowing he would probably pay for it later. He and Ainsley have been playing the game of ‘tag, you’re it’ since childhood, when it came to fending off their mother’s more overbearing tendencies. His turn was way overdue. 

“You okay?” Dani asked.

“Me? I’m fine,” he said, ignoring the wince that escaped Edrisa’s lips as he eyed the monstrosity in front of them. “Is it just me, or is this whole place giving off a very ominous vibe?”

“Tell me about it,” Edrisa said, with more than a touch of excitement. “It’s like something out of an old Agatha Christie Mystery.”

“Or a Dracula movie,” Dani muttered.

Malcolm let out a laugh. They were both right. It didn’t feel real, it was like something that escaped from the pages of a creepy tale. “I guess we should knock,” he said.

“Where?” Dani said. “Should we bang on the portcullis?”

“Oh, I don’t think we need to go that far,” Malcolm said, as he spotted a figure heading towards the jeep. Dani grabbed his arm as he picked up his pace.

“Easy, let me do the talking,” she said. “I’m the lead, remember?” 

“Oh, right.” he nodded. “After you.”

Luckily the figure changed course when he spotted them and sprinted through the gate tower to meet them. “Greg Peterson,” he said, in greeting. “I’m the head groundskeeper around here. Sorry I didn’t pick you up at the dock. I didn’t think you’d get here this fast. The nearest Marina is quite a way down river.”

“We caught a lift with a patrol boat,” Dani said, holding out a hand to shake. “Detective Dani Powell. This is our medical examiner, Dr Edrisa Tanaka, and Malcolm Bright, a consultant with the NYPD. 

“Nice to meet you all,” he said. “Follow me, I’ll bring you to William, he’s with the others in the main drawing room.”

“The others?” Dani echoed pulling out her pad.

“The rest of the family,” Peterson clarified. “That would be William and his wife, Ophelia; Amelia and Janet, Robert’s wife and ex wife; Beatrice, Robert’s daughter, and her husband Alexander Cambridge. Their children are here too, Abigail and Bobby - he’s only a kid, barely thirteen. 

“And the staff?” Dani prompted.

“Well, there is myself of course,” Peterson. “And I have a couple of guys who help me out part time on the grounds, but none of them have been here since Wednesday.”

“Best give me their names, anyway, just in case,” Dani said, with a reassuring smile.” She was really quite good at this, Malcolm thought. It was usually Gil who dealt with the families in these situations, while Dani interrogated the perps.

“Jack O’Sullivan and Jose Garcia,” he said. “They live up in the Bronx. I don’t have their contact details on me.”

“That’s okay, I’ll get them off you later,” Dani said. “Is that all of the staff?”

“Oh hell, no,” Peterson said .”Ann O’Kelly is our housekeeper, and Irie Browne is the cook. Valentina does most of the cleaning, I think her surname is Rios, Jenny Masterson was Robert’s secretary and is helping William out at the moment, and Chance Burke is the Helicopter pilot.”

There was something in Peterson's voice when he mentioned Burke’s name that made Malcolm raise an eyebrow. Was that a hint of contempt? 

Anyone else you think we should be talking to. Maybe an ex-employee with a grudge?”

Peterson shook his head. “Not anyone who's worked at the house,” he admitted. “Although the Aldersons have a finger in just about every industry in the country. It’d be strange if they didn’t have any enemies.”

“Fantastic,” Malcolm said. “A suspect pool of millions.” Dani threw him a look, the one that said _shut the fuck up_. 

“I don’t suppose you have someone who can show me to the bod- I mean, the remains?” Edrisa asked. 

“Of course, Alice will escort you to where we’re keeping Robert,” Peterson said, and Malcolm raised an eyebrow at the phrasing.

“Where _are_ they keeping him?” 

“In the freezer,” Peterson said, before seeing the expression on Malcolm’s face. “Oh, don’t worry, it’s a walk in and they covered the body in plastic. They’ve even cleaned up the butcher’s table in the scullery just in case the examiner needed it.”

“How long has he been in there?” Edrisa asked, her tone suddenly businesslike. That was always a bad sign.

“About five hours. William wanted to make sure the body was perfectly preserved for examination.” 

Malcolm closed his eyes. Even he knew what that meant. The body would be frozen solid. He looked at Edrisa, who looked to be struggling with her temper, an unusual sight. “How bad is it.”

“Very,” she said shortly. “A frozen body just can’t be defrosted with a hair dryer. You have to regulate the defrosting by moving the body to a refrigeration unit set at exactly 38 degrees. It’s the only way you can successfully defrost the inner organs before the outer limbs start to decompose. The process takes about a week." She sighed. “I’ll only be able to do a cursory examination of the body and while evidence of cyanosis is a good indicator of heart disease, it doesn’t exclude a variety of other possibilities.”

“Great,” Dani muttered. “Well, do what you can. I’ll talk to the family and break the news to them.”

We’re going to need specialist transport,” Edrisa warned her. “A medical helicopter would do the trick but they’re usually run off their feet with live patients.”

“Noted,” Dani said. “Let me run it by the family before we call it in.”

Malcolm sighed, something told him that this would be one of the many compromises they’d have to make for the Alderson family. A figure looking out a window on the second floor caught his eye. It was a boy, a little gawky and obviously at that awkward stage right before puberty; it must be Bobby Cambridge. He raised a hand in greeting but the boy just ducked back from the window. Interesting.

A woman stepped out of the large oak doors they were heading towards and Malcolm examined her clinically. She was a good looking woman, mid-forties, her make up was light, her hair pulled back into a chignon, discreet earrings, white linen blouse, dark wool pants suit, simple flats; not quite a uniform but it gave the suggestion of one. The housekeeper, Malcolm guessed. Her hard flinty eyes also suggested that their presence wasn’t welcome, but she gave them a perfunctory smile, nonetheless. 

“Ann O’Kelly,” she said, by way of greeting. “I’ll escort you to the drawing room.

“Uh,” Edrisa raised a hand and they stepped into a lofty foyer clad in dark oak paneling “I’m Doctor Edrisa Tanaka, medical examiner, I’d like to be taken to the remains.”

The housekeeper's eyes flashed but her words were polite. “Of course, Peterson here will take you.”

Peterson’s lips pulled into a thin line but he nodded. “Right this way, Dr Tanaka,” he said, and Edrisa pulled a face at me as she followed him. Malcolm knew how she felt. Usually he would be delighted with all the possibilities such a dysfunctional family would present to him but there was something about this place that was so...oppressive. He looked up at the stained glass windows above the door. They were long and steepled and depicted a strangely pagan tale, even if it was from the classics: Hades and Persephone, locked in an embrace as a wreath of pomegranates and narcissus twisted around them. Had Robert seen himself as Hades? If so, who had been his Persephone?

“Bright,” Dani hissed, and Malcolm blinked.

“Sorry, just admiring the stained glass,” he said, catching up to them. “Beautiful work, is there a story behind it?” 

The housekeeper gave him such a look of prim disapproval that Malcolm struggled not to react. There was something about this place that set him on edge. He eyed the suits of armour as they passed them on the wide corridor. Most of them were replicas but a few of them were definitely the real deal, although some of them were early renaissance rather than truly medieval armour, designed for jousting rather than the battlefield. His eyes took in the other details. The panelling seemed to be a feature throughout the entire house, although there were a few examples of exposed stonework here and there, covered by tapestries that were definitely the real thing. The unique odour of must and camphor was hard to replicate. 

A genuine Saxon longsword was mounted over a wide fireplace that the architect had seen fit to place along the hallway. That too was an original, no doubt ripped out of an old Norman castle somewhere. The sconces attached to the wall were replicas and, thankfully, had light bulbs screwed into them. At last, they came to a halt before a set of double doors and Alice O’Kelly, gave them a firm rap and waited. 

“Come in, called out a voice, and Alice opened the doors and stood aside. “Ah” said the man attached to the voice, he was a dark haired man in his fifties, in a navy bespoke suit. “You must be Detective Powell, Bill let me know you were coming.” _Bill,_ just a subtle hint that he was on a first name basis with the city mayor. Malcolm watched as William Alderson’s bright green eyes went to his. Malcolm noticed how he hadn’t volunteered his own name, which was telling in itself. He let a few moments go by before he gave into the silent demand.

“Malcolm Bright,” he said. “I’m a consultant with the NYPD, and you must be William Alderson. Nice place you have here. Very…bijou.” He covered his mouth, as if to hide a yawn, as he looked around the room.

William Alderson’s eyes narrowed, reacting to the not so subtle jibe. Yup,no empathic response to his yawn, definitely a sociopath, not that it was very surprising A frightening large percentage of the fortune five hundred suffered from a range of sociopathic traits. 

“Our medical examiner has gone to examine your father’s remains, Mr Alderson,” Dani said briskly, before the silence dragged on any longer. “But unfortunately, we’ve hit a bit of a snag. While I know you had only the best of intentions when you did so, preserving the body in the freezer has complicated matters. I’m afraid we now no longer have any option other than to transfer it to the Coroner’s office, as Dr Tanaka will now need specialised equipment to properly examine him.”

“I don’t understand,” WIlliam Alderson said, although something told Malcolm he was lying.

“They’ll need to defrost the body at a regulated temperature in order to avoid decomposition,” Malcolm said. “Can’t be done here, I’m afraid.” Again, William’s eyes twitched, but what Malcolm saw was pure anger, not grief. This was a man who didn’t like to be crossed or said no to. A type he was all too familiar with.

“Perhaps you could introduce us to the rest of the family,” Dani said hurriedly, glaring at him. Well, okay, maybe he was stepping up to that line a little too closely, but he’d always found he got the most honest reactions when people were angry - and before they realised he was a profiler.

“And what kind of consultant are you, exactly, Mr Bright,” William said suddenly.

Ah, busted.

“I’m a profiler, Mr Alderson,” he said, waiting for his reaction.

“Ah.” William Alderson let out a fake, depreciating laugh as his shoulders relaxed. “That explains it. Tell me, do you find out a lot about people when you annoy them?”

So he knows he’s a sociopath, Malcolm surmised, and knows what steps to take to hide it when he needs to. “I find I get a more honest reaction, yes. Sorry, it’s the job.”

“Oh no, don’t apologise.” He waved a hand in the air, the epitome of a wronged man being gracious. “After all, I asked Bill if he could pull out all the stops to make sure my father’s killer was brought to justice. I can’t complain when he delivers.”

“It hasn’t been verified that this was a wrongful death, yet, Mr Alderson,” Dani quickly interjected, and Malcolm cast his eyes down, trying to fade into the background again as he studied the others in the Room. 

He recognised Beatrice immediately, her cosmetic surgeon must be top notch. The young woman sitting beside her must be Abigail. She had the same fair hair, carefully styled, but didn’t have the same supercilious air as her mother. Malcolm was more than a little relieved, he’d have hated to think that the sweet little kid he remembered had grown up into a carbon copy of her mother. 

A vaguely familiar man with blonde, graying hair and wearing a dark grey three piece suit, sat in an armchair to their left. Malcolm assumed he was Alexander. On the other couch were two women. One was in her seventies, wearing a grey twinset with pearls and a sporting pale blonde bob. The other was in her forties, her dark hair pulled back into a ponytail, and she was wearing an electric blue couture suit. The wide gap between them told Malcolm he was looking at wife number one and two, Janet and Amelia. 

He glanced around the room to find the one family member he hadn’t put a face to yet - Ophelia Alderson, William’s wife. She seemed to be in her late thirties, with long dark hair curling around a pale and very beautiful face. She wore a dark Chanel jacket over a Kelly green dress and held an unlit cigarette between her fingers as she studiously looked out the window, trying to pretend she wasn't there.

He glanced back at Dani, who arched an eyebrow at him. He responded with a gentle shake of the head, and she turned back to William. “We’ll have a medical helicopter out here to collect the body as soon as possible but perhaps Mr Bright and I can ask a few questions while we’re here. Is there a more private room where we can set up. It’s probably best if we spoke to you all individually.”

“Oh, _really,_ do we have to?” Janet asked, with an indignant snort. “Everyone knows Robert died from a heart attack. This is just sour grapes. Give it up, son, you’ll have to make do with your mere tens of millions he left you. The company goes to Bobby. Maybe if you and Ophelia had made more of an effort to produce an heir, you wouldn’t be in this pickle.”

Malcolm watched As Ophelia Alderson stalked across the room and slammed the door behind her as she left.

“What?” Janet said, her voice harsh with protest. "I've only said what we’re all thinking. Robert was always very vocal about his expectations”

“Well, yes, thanks for that, Mother,” William said flatly, before turning to Dani. “I’m sure we’re all only too happy to help you with your inquiries, Detective. I’ll set you up in the study.” He turned to Janet. “Perhaps you should go first, Mother. Then you’ll be free to discuss my failings for the rest of the evening.” Janet Alderson threw her son a sour look but didn’t protest. 

“That sounds ideal,” Dani said smoothly, and William smiled at her again, cloaking himself in the persona of the mild mannered gentleman.Oh yes, Malcolm thought, definitely a snake.

* * *

Malcolm examined the study’s bookshelves as Dani rang the Precinct and talked to Gil. Sometimes you could learn a lot about a person by their reading material - or, at least, who they wanted you to think they were. Robert Alderson’s shelves had the usual classics, Everything from Herodotus’ _History of the Peloponnesian Wars_ to Dante’s _Inferno_ . Neither of their spines were cracked so Malcolm surmised they were there for show. This same couldn’t be said for some of the more modern books about business and economics. _Milton Friedman on Economics_ and _Capitalism and Freedom_ seemed very well thumbed, for instance. That Robert Alderson was a proponent of trickle down economics wasn’t a surprise to Malcolm, the man seemed well disposed to all forms of Feudalism. 

Gil can’t get a helicopter out here until tomorrow morning. It seems that already dead people aren’t a priority to the New York Ambulatory Helicopter services.”

Malcolm wasn’t surprised. Edrisa had already basically said as much. “So do we come back tomorrow?”

Dani sighed. “Not an option for me, I’m afraid. As the mayor insisted on treating this as a possible homicide, I can’t leave the body unattended overnight.”

“Oh well, all for one, one for all,” Malcolm said. “I’ll stay too.”

Dani rolled her eyes at him. “You can’t avoid your family forever, Bright,” she said. “It might even be good for you to spend some real time with them. It could help you all to deal with your father’s escape from incarceration.” She lifted a hand as he opened his mouth to protest. “And please don’t say you’re fine. We all know what that really means.” She took out her notepad again and Malcolm wished he’d thought to bring one of his own. He liked to spread all the aspects of the case in front of him when he tried to put the puzzle pieces together. Unfortunately, even Edrisa wouldn’t be able to pack a case board into her bag. 

There was an insistent knock rap on the door and Malcolm grinned at Dani, his mood already lifting. “Showtime,” he said. The hunt was on.

Janet Alderson didn’t wait until she was asked to enter. She strolled inside and eyed them disdainfully as she neatly folded herself into the armchair beside the lit fireplace. “Let's get this over with, shall we?” she said. “Yes, my ex husband was no good philandering piece of shit. No, I didn’t kill him, and any inclination I may have had to do so died over a decade ago.There is only so much time you can spend angry at your ex before you have to move on to maintain your sanity - and no, the changes in the will not affect my annuity. I had _very_ good lawyers at the divorce table.” 

“Good to know,” Malcolm said. “And what about your children?”

“And by that, I suppose you mean William,” she said. “Beatrice is hardly going to protest the new will, is she?. Her and that idiot husband of hers are going to be the custodians of little Bobby’s fortune until he reaches the age of thirty. I’m sure they are only too pleased with the current state of events.”

“So you think William might have done it?” Malcolm prodded and she glared at him balefully. 

“Don’t be ridiculous. I don’t think anybody killed him. The old coot smoked cigars every day for over half a century. It was his heart, of course. He had a triple bypass ten years ago and he’s been on medication ever since. He’s had a good run of it, all things considered.” She crossed her legs, a sign of defensiveness that had him intrigued. She was definitely hiding something, but what he didn’t know. 

“And your grandkids?” he asked. “What about them.” 

“Bobby and Abigail?” she asked. “Is this some sort of joke?” She got to her feet abruptly. “Perhaps you should talk to someone whose fortunes were significantly altered by the new will - the _widow,_ perhaps.”

“Really?” Malcolm asked, purposefully taking the bait. “Why is that?”

“Because that stupid woman has been sleeping with that idiotic helicopter pilot and wasn’t very discreet about it. She was giving us all hell earlier about the fact she’s only been left the bare minimum laid out in their prenuptial agreement. All in all, she’s very lucky he died when he did. There was an infidelity clause in their contract. If he’d had time to divorce her, she'd have been left with nothing. Although, I suppose the measly 5 million she’s walking away with is barely worth talking about. ” I could see exactly what Dani was thinking just from the expression on her face. She couldn’t believe someone had actually said the words 'measly' and 'five million' in the same sentence. 

“Yes, well, just for our records, where were you when your ex husband died?” she said.

“In my house in Connecticut,” she said. “I flew in this morning when I heard the news; for my children, you know. My housekeeper can verify that, and I suppose that helicopter pilot can too. He should be back soon. Can I go now?”

Dani smiled that close lipped smile she used when she was close to losing it. “Yes, thank you, Mrs Alderson, could you have Amelia join us?”

A gleeful spark shone in the old woman’s eyes. “Be sure to grill her about the himbo. I’m sure it’ll be very entertaining.” Malcolm raised an eyebrow. Himbo? With the relish Janet Alderson used the word, Malcolm felt certain it was newly added to her lexicon. 

"Did she strike you as the Black Widow type?" Malcolm asked, remembering the water patrol officer's words.

"Not really," Dani said. "But you never can tell. This is going to be interesting.” 

Malcolm smiled in answer as his cell began to ring again. Another unknown number. “Speaking of interesting,” he said. “Get Gil to trace it.”

“He’s already got a lock on your phone,” she said, as she dialled, and Malcolm nodded, picking up.

“ _Malcolm!_ ” his father said. “ _So glad you picked up. I thought you might still be annoyed with me.”_

“Dr Whitly,” Malcolm said, as evenly as he could. He curled his hand into a first as the tremor took hold of his fingers. “Twice in one day, I’m honoured."

“ _Yes, well, I had hoped to do this face to face but you know how it is_.”

“Yes, being on the FBI’s most wanted list must be really crimping your style,” Malcolm said dryly.

_“Oh don’t be like that, son, I just feel we’d both benefit from some quality time together. I’m always here for you, you know. If there is anyone that understands what you’re going through, it’s me.”_

“I’m touched,” Malcolm said, eyeing Dani, whose face was the picture of frustration as she kept her ear to her cell. He couldn’t hear what Gil was saying but something told him it wasn’t good. “Why are you calling me, Dr Whitly?”

Another sigh came down the phone. “ _You know, I really wish you wouldn’t call me, Malcolm, I know we have our issues, but I’m still your father. Your distancing techniques can’t change that. Like it or not, I’m a part of you, and it just isn’t good for you to ignore that….besides…...see you……….your mother…..”_

“Dr Whitly?” Malcolm asked as the phone hissed once more and then went dead. He glanced up at Dani. “I lost him.”

Dani looked at her cell in exasperation. “I lost Gil too. I guess reception out here must be spotty.”

Malcolm frowned, they may be on an Island, but they were still only five miles from the heart of New York City. Maybe it was the stone walls? “We might be able to get a signal outside,” he said, glancing out the window as he heard the harsh whip of a helicopter blade. Oh look, here comes the himbo.”

“Don't say things like that,” Dani said, but Malcolm could hear the amusement in her voice. 

The helicopter cleared the curtain wall, and Malcolm frowned. There was something off about it, the way it was slowly spinning around as it neared the ground. His eyes widened as he realised it was about to crash. Without thinking,he dashed for the door.

“Bright, where are you going?” Dani called after him. He could hear the light tread of her feet behind him. The helicopter whir was now a whine and, when Malcolm ripped open the main doors, it was already leering to the left as the pilot tried to land. For a moment, it looked like he was going to succeed but then the helicopter lurched to the side and hit the courtyard, the blades sparking against the flagstone. In a split second, the helicopter tail was alight and Malcolm sprinted forward. 

“God damn it, Bright, wait!” he could hear Dani behind him but he didn’t stop. He knew the fuel tank was going to blow soon and the pilot still hadn’t emerged from the wreckage. 

Malcolm bounced up on the nose of the helicopter and pulled open the door. The pilot was conscious but dazed and he leaned in to pull at his belt. It didn’t budge. He pulled at where it was attached to the helicopter frame and managed to loosen the belt enough to pull the pilot towards him. 

Dani was suddenly beside him again. “You take the left arm, I’ll take the right,” she said. With a heave, they pulled him free and had him draped over the edge of the helicopter door frame. 

“We don’t have time to be gentle,” he said, nodding at the flames that were already beginning to lick the main fusilage of the helicopter.

Dani nodded and, as one, they pulled, again, and all three of them fell onto the courtyard. Malcolm felt something in his shoulder protest but stumbled to his feet nonetheless. “Can you stand?” he asked Dani, and she nodded as she rolled to her feet and grabbed the arm of the now unconscious pilot. The flames had now risen to a dull roar, and Malcolm hastily grabbed the other arm as they tried to put as much distance as possible between them and the burning craft. 

The percussion wave of the explosion hit them before they could reach the door, blowing them off their feet and the discomfort in Malcolm’s shoulder bloomed into agony as they hit the flagstones but, hey, they were alive...and on fire, apparently. 

“Close your eyes,” Edrisa’s voice barked, and Malcolm instinctively obeyed, glad he did so when he heard the sound of a fire extinguisher.

“It’s okay, you can open your eyes now, it’s Halon,” Edrisa said. “Which it shouldn’t be, because this stuff was definitely banned a few years ago, but it isn’t actually toxic to humans, just the environment.

“Huh,” Malcolm said, opening his eyes. His pants legs were definitely a bit singed around the edges, but he couldn’t feel the painful tingle that came with skin burns. 

“Don’t worry,” Edrisa said, with a wide smile. “You are still in one perfect piece.” Malcolm rolled his eyes at her and she shrugged back.“Too much?”

“I’ll give you a pass this time, seeing as you saved our lives.”

Her smile grew wider as she pulled her cell out and leaned over the pilot. “At least we now have a legitimate reason to call for a Medivac,” she said, as she peeled back the Chance Burke’s eyelids. Dani sat up on her elbows and gave her a wry look that Edrisa cheerfully ignored. “Mr Alderson’s body definitely showed signs of cyanosis but, as I said before, that isn’t enough to make a definitive decision. I’ll be happier once we get him back to the coroner’s labs.” She frowned at her phone. “Funny, I can’t get through.”

“Strange,” Malcolm said, pulling out his own cell. “We’re outside, we shouldn’t be getting any interference anymore. The bars on his phone were blank, he wasn’t even picking up a weak signal. He glanced at Dani, who was also frowning at her cellphone. 

“We’ll use the landline,” she said, struggling to her feet and limping towards the door just as Peterson and William Alderson burst out into the courtyard. 

“Oh, good,” Edrisa said. “I don't suppose either of you could scrounge up something we could use as a stretcher? |I don’t want to move him more than I have to.”

“Right,” said Peterson, retreating back into the house as William took another step forward, glaring at the fireball in the middle of his courtyard.

“What the hell happened here?”

“Kind of self explanatory, I would have thought,” Malcolm said, not able to help himself. “Luckily we were able to drag the pilot free.”

“Oh, right,” William pulled himself together enough to fake some concern. “Is he going to be alright?”

“I think so,” Edrisa said. “He’s knocked out but I don’t think he’s broken anything.” She eyed Malcolm as he got to his feet. “What’s wrong with your shoulder?”

Hit it when we jumped off the helicopter,” Malcolm said. “The explosion doesn’t seem to have helped.”

Let me see,” she said jumping to her feet, and Malcolm winced as she poked at it. “Hold still,” she said. “This is going to hurt.” Malcolm let out a surprised scream as Edrisa shoved and pulled at her shoulder and pain shot through him as his shoulder popped back into place. “There, all better.”

“Thanks,” Malcolm gasped out.

“We’ve got a problem,” Dani said, as she limped out of the door again. Edrisa frowned, glancing down at her ankle. 

“I want a look at that,” she said.

“In a minute,” Dani said, waving her away, as she turned to Alderson. “Our cells aren’t working, and the landline is down.”

Alderson scowled, before looking up at the curtain wall the helicopter had passed over. “Damn it, both the phone line and the Island’s cell tower are on that roof. The helicopter must have taken them both out.”

He stalked back into the house, muttering under his breath, and Edrisa went to Dani’s side, letting her lean on her shoulder. “Uh, guys, she said quietly. You know that hitting one cell tower shouldn’t leave us with zero bars, don’t you?”

Malcolm’s eyes widened as Edrisa’s words sank in. “Someone is using a signal jammer,” he said. 

“Those are illegal,” Dani pointed out.

“So is that fire extinguisher I used,” Edrisa said.

“I think we’ve entered a world where the players believe the normal rules don’t apply to them,” Malcolm said softly.

“So you’re saying we’re stuck on this Island with no way off, with someone who's just destroyed all our means of communication with the outside world,” Dani said.

“Well, until the morning, when the Medical Ambulance Helicopter arrives,” Malcolm said. “Or we could use the skiff.”

“Can either of you sail?” Dani asked pointedly. “Because I can’t”

“I've just realised something. We’re really in an Agatha Christie story,” Edrisa said, her voice strangely muted, “trapped in a secluded house with a potential killer. This isn’t as much fun as I thought it’d be.”

“Oh, I don’t know,” Malcolm said, a small smile pulling at the edges of his mouth. “I think this might be a lot of fun.”

“Oh God,” Dani muttered. “Here we go again.”

TBC

**( Kudos are lovely, comments would be awesome <3 ) **


	2. Chapter 2

Observation and the gathering of information, one of the basic tenets of psychological profiling. The problem was, Malcolm almost had too much information to work with. He watched as Dani stood in front of the fireplace, gathering the attention of the room, and how the various family members reacted to her encroachment on their territory.

There was an edge of petulance to William's expression which Malcolm found disappointing. If he were acting more smug, Malcolm would have considered him a prime suspect, not that they had anything concrete to suspect him of at this point. His wife, Ophelia, sat on the couch beside him, curling away from her husband. She was afraid of him, Malcolm surmised, although he was uncertain as to whether it was due to psychological or physical abuse.

Yes, William was capable of murder, Malcolm concluded, but it was unlikely he'd demand a police presence afterwards if he'd done it - although he did have certain narcissistic traits, so it was possible his ego wouldn't allow him to entertain the idea he'd be caught. He definitely should be interviewed next, Malcolm decided as he eyed the rest of the room.

Amelia looked upset, which was an appropriate reaction if Janet's insistence she was having an affair with Chance was true. She kept eyeing the door as if looking for an opportunity to escape the room. Was she hoping to slip away to see how the helicopter pilot was doing?

Janet looked bored, which seemed true to type. Malcolm wasn't sure if he believed she was a Black Widow, but as they were currently unable to contact the mainland, the question was moot.

Beatrice, on the other hand, merely looked perturbed, while her husband seemed just as disengaged as he'd been earlier. Perhaps he suffered from some form of Avoidant Personality Disorder. If so, Malcolm wondered how he had survived in his marriage for so long, perhaps because of the children. Abigail, his daughter was still seated beside Beatrice….and she looking straight at _him._

Interesting.

Malcolm smiled at Abigail she tilted her head at him, before searching the rest of the room for her little brother. He was still missing, which might be problematic if William was right and his father was murdered because of the will. There was a strong chance Bobby was in danger.

A movement by the door caught his eye, and Malcolm turned to see Ann O'Kelly, the housekeeper, slip into the room, reminding him he shouldn't forget the staff. Just because the will was the most obvious motive doesn't mean there couldn't be another motive they hadn't figured out yet. After all, if old Robert Alderson was as despicable as his father had said, there was probably a party going on somewhere right now, celebrating his death.

"Bright?" Dani called, raising an eyebrow at him as he started in his seat.

"Oh, right," he said, jumping up. "Well, I think it's safe to say things have escalated, but I think we should continue with the interviews." He smiled at the disgruntled faces that turned in his direction. "How about you, Mr Alderson?" he said, turning to him. "Want to go next? Perhaps we could discuss the details of the will, and maybe even see a copy."

William Alderson did not look happy but he smiled nonetheless. "Of course, of course - Ann?" He glanced over at the Housekeeper. "Can you have Ms Masterson bring a copy of the will to the study?"

Ms Masterson, Roger's personal secretary. Now that he thought about it, it was rather strange she hadn't been present yet. Personal secretaries were usually more integrated into the family dynamic, or maybe he only thought that because his mother's secretary was an ever present staple in his own household.

"After you," he said aloud, waving towards the door, and William Alderson sniffed at him as he swept out of the room.

"Try not to rile him up too much," Dani said out of the corner of her mouth as they followed him. "I really don't want to end this day having to swim home."

"Don't worry," Malcolm said, giving her a smile he suspected was a shade too manic to be believable. "I'll be perfectly appropriate." There was that sigh again. He was beginning to suspect Dani had at last figured out how to read him. Soon she'll be joining Gil in giving him exasperated, knowing looks whenever they're at a crime scene.

"Just try to tone it down a little," she said.

In answer, Malcolm tugged at her arm. "Just slow down a step," he said softly. "Let him get a head of steam on us before we enter the room. Then I might not need to prod at him, he'll do all the work for me." Dani smirked but slowed her step and by the time they reached the study, William had already installed himself behind his father's desk, claiming the room.

"So, he said, clasping his hands on the desk. "What is it you wished to ask of me?"

Dani pulled out her notepad. "Just the usual questions, like when was the last time you spoke to your father before he died?"

William nodded, his expression somber. "Well it was that morning, actually. He's seemed in good spirits, not at all unwell, and was planning to take his morning constitutional on the other side of the island - we have a small beach there."

"And did he say anything to you that might indicate he was in fear of his life?"

A frown line appeared on his forehead. "No, but there was something on his mind because he made a point of asking if I'd be home from the city in time to join him for dinner. That usually was a precursor to a more serious conversation between me and my father-"

There was a soft tap on the door and Malcolm turned to see a beautiful young woman in a navy pantsuit enter the room. "I have the will," she said lightly, lifting a folder up.

"Ah, thank you, Ms Masterson."

The first thing Malcolm noticed was how William's eyes were definitely not concentrating on Ms Masterson's face, the second thing he noticed was how Ms Masterson seemed to welcome the attention. She smiled down at him warmly as she rounded the desk, leaning in a little too closely as she placed the will before him. Malcolm caught her side profile, her high, rounded cheekbones, pale blue eyes, and thick curling hair tied back with a clasp.

"Persephone," Malcolm said, realising where he'd recognised her face from.

The secretary looked up, her expression darkening before she remembered who he was. Her face smoothed. "Roger's little joke, I'm afraid." she said. "I humoured him."

"Right," Bright drawled, and something must have shown in his voice, because William let out a polite cough.

"Yes, well, that's all for now Jenny," he said, and Ms Masterson took the hint, straightening.

"Of, course, Mr Alderson," she said, her tone lightly professional once more.

In his defense, he did wait until she shut the door before he popped the question. "I have only one more question, Mr Alderson, how long have you been sleeping with your father's secretary?"His reaction was immediate. Almost as if he was expecting the question and was prepared to be outraged, Malcolm thought cynically.

"How dare you accuse me of cheating on my wife!" he burst out, his fists slamming into the desk as he got to his feet.

Malcolm swallowed down a sigh. "I'm not making a judgement here, Mr Alderson. I'm merely observing the dynamic between you and Ms Masterson and wondering if your father saw it too. After all, if Roger Alderson thought his Persephone was sprinkling her pomegranate seeds elsewhere, that might explain the change in the will-"

"I've had enough of this," Alderson roared. "I'll see the mayor hears about this. How dare you impugn my character!" Malcolm leaned against the desk as William stalked over to the door and swung it open forcefully, letting it bang into the wall

"Well, that could have gone better," he said.

"You think?" Dani asked dryly.

Edrisa stepped in through the open doorway. "He doesn't look happy."

"I just accused him of being a philandering murderer," Malcolm explained. "People tend to not react too well to that."

"Huh, well, in other news, the pilot is awake," Edrisa said. "But he's a mess. His eyes are dilated and he's been throwing up, which isn't that surprising, really. He's been in a helicopter crash, I'd be surprised if he wasn't concussed-"

"But?" Malcolm prompted her gently. He knew Edrisa well enough to know she was worried.

"But his skin is clammy, and he keeps shivering uncontrollable. His lucidity isn't the best either. I'm worried he has serious internal injuries, maybe even kidney damage. He might not make it until the morning."

"That isn't good." Malcolm said. "Maybe we should try the skiff after all. I mean, how hard can it be?" Actually, it could be pretty damned hard. The east river was a tidal river and while he had done some rowing at Harvard, he had no experience maneuvering a small boat with an engine.

Dani looked at him as if she knew what he was thinking. "Someone here must know how to use it, it wouldn't be moored here otherwise."

"Malcolm nodded. "Probably the groundskeeper."

"Right," Dani stood. I"'ll go get him. You try to get something out of Chance while we still can."

"Good idea," he said, picking up the will from the desk "Lead the way."

* * *

t was a testament to the Alderman's need to protect their status in the world,"Malcolm thought, as they wound down a back corridor and up a flight of narrow stairs , hat even then a man was on death's door, they still took the time to make sure he was laid out in a room appropriate to his station.

"Please tell me you were at least able to use an elevator to carry him up here," Malcolm said as they eventually reached the top, and Edrisa snorted.

"Eventually," she said. "These people are very weird."

Malcolm decided this was Edrisa's polite way of saying the Aldersons were overly privileged assholes. "Do you think he'll be okay to move again?" he asked.

"Honestly, no," Edrisa said. "We're definitely going to need a medivac." She pushed open a door and Malcolm followed her inside. It was immediately evident why Edrisa was so worried. Chance Burke's eyes were open but unfocused, and his forehead had broken out into beads of sweat. The smell of vomit permeated the air and grew stronger as they neared the bed.

"Yeah, I tried to clean it up as much as possible but the odour kind of lingers," Edrisa said as Malcolm wrinkled his nose. "Hi, it's Edrisa. Mr Burke, can you hear me?

"No," he moaned, "please don't." He rocked to his side and Edrisa hastily reached for the bucket again. "It's okay, Mr Burke," she said. "We're going to get you to the hospital."

"No time," he gasped out. "Dying."

Malcolm hunched down beside him. "Mr Burke, my name is Malcolm Bright," he said. "I'm a consultant with the police. Can you tell me about the crash? Did something go wrong with the Helicopter?"

Chance closed his eyes. "Not the helicopter, me."

Malcolm frowned, was he saying the crash was due to pilot error or something more? "I don't understand, Mr. Burke, are you saying it was an accident?"

"No," he said, clutching at his stomach. "Please, no, I won't tell anyone."

Edrisa leaned forward and raised an eyelid. "Totally unfocused," she pronounced."I don't think you're going to get much sense out of him. I think he's delirious."

"Abigail," he cried out. "Abigail, _please_."

A floorboard creaked and Malcolm turned to see Abigail Cambridge standing in the doorway. "Sorry," she said. "I didn't know I'd upset him so much. Is he going to be okay?"

"Honestly? he's in pretty bad shape," Malcolm said. "Did you come to see Chance or were you looking for one of us?"

"Uh," she said. "I know who you are?"

Malcolm blinked. "Well, I did introduce myself," he bluffed.

"But that's not your real name, is it?" she countered. "I mean, I get it, if my dad was a serial killer, I'd want to change my name too but…" she faltered before steeling herself. "I went to high school with Ainsley."

"I hadn't realised that." But he should have. Beatrice Cambridge may have forbidden her daughter to fraternise with the a Whitley, but Ainsley still went to one of the most prestigious schools on the upper east side. They couldn't kick her out, the Miltons had donated too generously to the school. "It still doesn't explain how you recognised me." Ainsley had gone to Chapin, while he had gone to Regis before transferring to Remington. He felt the tremor in his hand come to life as a flash of memory ran through his mind, the walls of that cupboard closing in. He twisted his hand into a fist, willing it to recede.

"She missed you when you went to Harvard," Abigail. "You remember that term break when you brought her with you to the campus? She showed me pictures."

He did remember that, as a matter of fact. Although it was more a case of him taking her _away_ from their mother than _to_ Harvard. "I see," he said loud.

"Sorry," she offered. "I didn't mean to blurt it out like that. I just thought you should know. I'm not going to say anything, if you're worried."

"My name _is_ Bright, by the way. I had it legally changed." Malcolm said, looking down at Chance Burke's feverish body. He got to his feet. "Maybe we should take this conversation outside. Are you good here, Edrisa?"

"Good might be pushing it," Edrisa said, a worried expression on her face. "I'm managing."

Malcolm pulled a face of commiseration as he followed Abigail out of the room. Edrisa was always more comfortable with the dead. He eyed Abigail as she stood in the hallway with her arms wrapped around herself protectively. So," he started. "How about you tell me what you're trying to gather up courage to say."

She bit her lip, with an almost apologetic smile "Chance and I were the signatories for the new will," she said. "He called us into his study last week, and demanded that we witness it. I knew it was a bad idea, that William would go through the roof, and I begged him to wait until he met with his lawyer, but he wouldn't listen. Grandfather was always a hard man to say no to."

"I see," Malcolm said, as he looked down at the will in his hands. "And a week later, he dies. Tell me, when did William find out about the new will?"

"Well I certainly didn't tell him," Abigail said. "And I'm not sure Roger did either. I think he was waiting for the right moment, so that the announcement would make maximum impact. He could be vindictive that way"

Malcolm's eyes slid to the door of Chance's room. "Is it possible Mr Burke told him?"

"Not if he wanted to hang onto his job,he didn't" Abigail said, with a snort. "I think he was already terrified that Grandfather would find out about him and Amelia. He wouldn't want to give William the impetus to tell him."

"So William knew about the affair."

"We _all_ knew about the affair, they weren't exactly discreet."

Malcolm nodded. "Listen, I want to talk to your brother-"

" _Bright!"_

Malcolm followed the sound of Edrisa's voice, barreling through the bedroom door. Edrisa was on the bed, straddling Chance, who was seizing violently underneath her. "What can I do?"

"Grab his arms," she gasped out. "All we can do is make sure he doesn't hurt himself and ride this out."

He ran to the far side of the bed, grasping at his wrists, and kneeling onto the edge of the mattress as he tried to prevent his arms flying from his grasp. "Is this normal?"

"It can happen, especially if the patient has had a bad knock to the head," Edrisa said, panting. "It fits with the nausea and the less than lucid conversation - of course, it also fits with a lot poisons."

Malcolm blinked, looking down at the rictus grimace on Chance's face. "Strychnine?"

No, I've already tested for that. They probably keep strychnine on a property of this size to keep the rats down, so I thought it might be a good bet. I think you're on the right track, though. If it's a poison, it's definitely an alkaloid poisoning

"No!" Chance cried out. "I wasn't going to tell. I promise-" His body seized one more time, arching off the bed before slumping. Edrisa's eyes widened.

"No, oh no," she bent down and checked to see if he was breathing or had a pulse, and then proceeded to give him CPR. Malcolm uncurled his hands from Chance's wrists, watching as she desperately tried to resuscitate him.

"Edrisa," he said. "He's gone."

"Don't say that," she said. She pressed down on his chest, her face the picture of quiet desperation. "Only I get to say that."

Malcolm sat back on his heels as Edrisa tried to get him to breath. She was at a minute in when Dani entered the room. Malcolm lifted his hand as she opened her mouth to speak, and she shut it again as she realised what was going on.

At three minutes, Edrisa called it. "Time of death, 2.34pm." She slowly climbed off the bed, looking more tired than he had ever seen her.

"It wasn't your fault, Edrisa"

"Wasn't it?" Then whose was it?" There was a sharpness to her voice that was rarely directed at him.

"Edrisa, you did your best. We can all see that," Dani said softly. "What was it in the end?"

"Cardiac arrest, brought on by a grand mal seizure," Edrisa said flatly, sitting on the end of the bed.

"I hadn't thought his injuries were that serious," Dani said.

Malcolm raised an eyebrow at Edrisa who nodded her head. "We think he might have been poisoned," he told Dani. "His injuries covered up a lot of the symptoms until it was too late."

"What kind of poison," she asked.

"We've narrowed it down to an alkaloid poison," Malcolm said, turning to Edrisa, who nodded solemnly.

"So when do you think he was poisoned?" she asked softly.

"It depends on a variety of factors," Edrisa said. "Anything from two to six hours."

"Which means it's possible he even wasn't even killed at the house," Malcolm said, sighing.

Edrisa got to her feet. "I'm going to process the body," she said. "See if I can narrow that down." It was a dismissal if ever Malcolm had heard one, and he tilted his head at Dani, who nodded.

"We'll continue with the interviews," she said, and Malcolm pressed a hand on Edrisa's shoulder. She didn't even look up, which had Malcolm more than a little worried. He followed Dani out of the room.

"How is she?" Dani asked.

"Not good, she feels responsible for his death," he said. "Which she shouldn't. She did the best she could with what she had." Although he knew from personal experience that logic rarely assuaged guilt.

"Well, even if she could have kept him alive a little bit longer, it wouldn't have helped," she said. "The skiff has been sabotaged."

"What? How?" Malcolm's mind whirled with the possibilities. "Does this place have security cameras?"

Dani gave him a rueful look. "We should be so lucky. There is no surveillance on the Island. The Aldersons won't even allow drones to fly over it." She came to a halt on the corridor, grabbing his arm as she looked down at his hand. The tremors had stopped, thankfully. "The skiff was holed," she said. "It looked like someone had taken an axe to it."

Malcolm nodded. "We should ask Peterson where they keep the tools," he said. "They might not have surveillance but they might have a lock on the storage room. We might be able to narrow down who had access to them."

"I already asked. Peterson had a key, as does the housekeeper, and apparently old Robert Alderson had one too but-"

"It's missing," Malcolm finished. He could feel the tension in his jaw tightening. This was usually the part of the case he enjoyed the most, putting the puzzle pieces of his profile together until it made a satisfactory whole, but there was something about the events of this day that were putting him on edge. Firstly, there were the poisonings themselves. It was a dispassionate way of killing, usually performed by someone who doesn't gain pleasure from the act of killing but merely wishes to gain from it. Someone cool and clinical and wanting to run under the radar - but then there was the sabotaging of the skiff and the phone line, as well as the use of the cell phone jammer. That seemed clumsier, somehow, more desperate.

"You've got that look on your face," Dani said. "Spit it out."

"It's probably nothing," Malcolm said, shaking his head. There was no point in sharing his suspicions right now as he only had a hunch to back it up. "We should probably continue with the interviews."

Dani's face smoothed over, the picture of professionalism. "Who should be next?"

"Bobby Alderson," he said.

"Really? But he's just a kid."

"A kid whose just inherited a 50 billion dollar fortune," Malcolm said. "I want to hear what he thinks about that." And how everyone else reacts to him being questioned. It was the profiling equivalent of shaking the tree to see what came loose, but needs must.

* * *

And it worked like a charm, almost a little too well. Bobby sat in the chair in front of the desk, looking down at his hands as his mother stood behind him on the left and his uncle on the right, like two buzzards waiting to see which corpse was about to be picked over.

"Hi Bobby, my name is Malcolm Bright and this is Detective Dani Powell," Malcolm said."We just want to ask you a few questions about your grandfather's will." He and Dani had taken the opportunity to look over it before Bobby arrived. Like Abigail had said, it had been signed by her and Chance, and held a couple of surprises. For one, Robert Alderson was even wealthier than Malcolm had originally surmised. Not Bezos rich but 87 billion dollars was definitely a healthy bank balance. The other surprise was the 10 million he'd left Jenny Masterson - the same amount he's left his last wife. Robert Alderson seems to have been very enamoured with his Persephone.

"What do you want to know?" Bobby's voice was high and nervous, but that wasn't necessarily a sign of guilt. He was thirteen years old. Any kid that age would have felt intimidated by a police interrogation.

"Well, we'd like to know if you knew your Grandfather had left you his fortune," Malcolm said. "Did you?" He looked up and silently shook his head. Malcolm got a quick glimpse of intelligent green eyes before he dropped his chin again. Suspicion rose in Malcolm's mind. The kid was definitely hiding something. The question was whether it was about the murder or something else. William Alderson's hand dropped on the boy's shoulder, causing him to flinch, and Malcolm looked up into his bullish expression.

"I think it's best we wait until Bobby has some legal representation if you're going to pursue this line of inquiry," he said.

"It's the line of inquiry you asked us to follow, Mr Alderson," Malcolm reminded him. "In fact, you insisted on it."

"My son is a minor and totally incapable of such an act," Beatrice said. "I'm sure my brother hadn't expected you to treat him like a suspect."

"I'm not accusing Bobby of anything, Mrs Cambridge," he said. "I'm just trying to verify how many people knew about the changes to the will before your father's death - other than the witnesses, of course." Something flickered in Beatrice's eyes, something that was tamped down quickly. "Is there something you want to say, Mrs Cambridge?" he prompted.

Beatrice lips pulled back into a snarl. "I've had enough of this, come along, Bobby."

Bobby's green eyes bobbed up again. Was it his imagination of that a plea for help in his eyes. "Bobby, when was the last time you spoke to your grandfather."

"Yesterday, after dinner,"he said.

"And did he mention the will to you?"

"That's enough!" William snapped. "My sister had already told you you're going to have to wait until our lawyer gets here to question him - Bobby, get up."

The boy stood, and followed his mother to door. He turned back just as he was about to leave the will. "He told me about the will," he admitted. "But I don't care about the money."

' _No,'_ thought Malcolm, as he caught the expression on his mother's face, ' _but your family does.'_

"So," Dani said, as the door closed behind them. "Did you see anything that might help you profile?"

"The boy's is hiding something, and the mother is protecting him," Malcolm said. "And William is definitely regretting calling us in."

"Yeah, you don't have to be a profiler to realise that," Dani said, with a small smile. "But you don't think the kid had anything to to with it, do you?"

Malcolm's mind flashed to the blank rage on Ainsley's face as she butchered Nicholas Endicott. Having grown up in a household where sociopathic behaviour was not only a genetic component, but also ingrained into the ethos of the family, he knew better than to dismiss it. Bobby was inherently capable of it, even at such a young age. He pulled his hand under the desk before it's tremour was noticed and cleared his throat. "We can't rule it out."

The door opened again, and Edrisa entered. "It was definitely poison," she said. "I found these in his front shirt pocket." She placed a small bottle of capsule pills on the table with a pair of gloved hands.

""Tramadol?" Malcolm asked. "He was killed with prescription painkillers?"

No, although those do pack quite a punch." She carefully broke open a pill, and a finely ground brown substance spilled onto the polished desk."It's aconite"

"From the Monkshood plant, also known as Wolfsbane?" Malcolm said, leaning forward on his desk.

Edrisa nodded, excitement lighting up her eyes. "The very same. It's quite ingenious, really, aconite is very bitter, even in this processed granular form. A coated pill is the perfect delivery system. I was able to cobble together a test. She held up a test tube that had a greenish liquid in it. "Mixed it with some formic acid and potassium ferricyanide, green indicates the presence of Aconite. I also checked Robert Alderson's room." She placed another bottle on the table. This time it was blood pressure pills. "They've been tampered with as well."

"I don't know why you're looking so happy. If it was in their medication, it means that anyone could have killed them," Dani said. "They didn't even have to be in the same country when they were swallowed.

But Malcolm knew why Edrisa looked so relieved. "Aconite poisoning has no counter agent. Mr Burke would have died no matter what you did."

"I know, it's stupid, right?" Edrisa said, slumping into a chair.

"It's not stupid, Edrisa," Malcolm said, remembering how helpless he'd felt when he'd never been able to find the girl in the box. "Believe me, I'm intimately familiar with the feeling."

"So where do we go from here?" Dani asked, the frustration showing in her voice. "Did you find anything else on the bottles?"

"No fingerprints,". Dani said. "And the aconite compound was handmade. Someone literally dug up an aconite flower, dried it out, and ground down it's roots."

"Wouldn't that take some kind of know how?"

Malcolm shook his head. "Nothing Google couldn't tell you. Aconite is incredibly potent, They used to coat arrows with the stuff in order to take down large game. Even its touch is toxic. You only need a gramme of ground aconite root to kill someone." He was suddenly acutely aware of two pairs of eyes trained on him. "What? I track serial killers. Knowing this much about poisons is totally normal."

"Hey, I'm not complaining, I think it's cool," Edrisa protested.

Dani smirked. "That's because you two are peas in a pod when it comes to all this macabre stuff."

Malcolm shrugged, looking at Edrisa, who grinned back.

"Did you find anything else?" Malcolm asked.

"Nothing yet. I had the body moved down to the scullery. I won't be able to do a full autopsy but hopefully I'll learn something with a preliminary examination."

"Right, he said. "So I suppose we should continue with the interviews while you do that?"

"Who's next?" Dani asked.

"Robert's second wife or his Persephone," Malcolm mused. "If all the indicators are correct, both of them were were sleeping with him, and one of them was sleeping with both of our murder victims.

"Right," Dani said. "We'll go with the wife first.

* * *

The first thing Malcolm learned about Amelia Alderson was that she wasn't the brightest bulb in the box.

"Me and Chance?" she echoed. "Why would you ever think such a thing?"

"Maybe because every single person in the house has told us you were sleeping with him," Malcolm said. "And then there is the will. I mean, 87 billion dollars and all he left you were a lousy 10 million. You must have been pissed."

Her face reddened. "This family has always had it in for me. Poking their noses where it doesn't belong. It wouldn't surprise me if they all were in it together, hoping they could pin it on me. They probably thought that if they told Robert that bullshit story about me and Chance that he'd cut me off without a cent and give them a controlling interest in the money." She got to her feet. "Well, I guess they were half right. If you wish to speak to me again, you're going to have to do it in the presence of my lawyer."

"Well, that didn't go well," Dani said, as the door slammed.

"On the contrary, I think we learned a lot," Malcolm said. "Did you see the way she flushed when we accused her of killing Robert because of the will. That was an autonomic response, usually triggered by emotions like, fear, guilt, embarrassment… The point is, I think it genuinely hadn't occurred to her she might be viewed as a suspect, which means-"

"She isn't guilty," Dani said.

No, she wasn't, and that complicated things. Malcolm thought of Chance Burke's last words, how desperate and pleading he'd sounded. Betrayal is a big word. One you only used for those closest to you. If it wasn't Amelia, then who was it. Did Chance have another lover? "Perhaps we'll have better luck with Ms Masterson," Malcolm said aloud. "That stained glass window was a statement, Robert Alderson immortalised her face and installed it in his castle for everyone to see when they entered his home. If Persephone was sleeping with his son, a man like Robert might go to extreme levels to exact his revenge. "

"So, the secretary next, then."

Malcolm pulled a face. "If you say it like that, it sounds so boring. The old rich guy is sleeping with his secretary."

"You think it was something more?"

"I think Robert thought it was something more." The light to his darkness. His mind flashed to his parents, an intrusive thought he quickly shied away from. It was best not to go there. He glanced up and realised Dani had already left the room. That wasn't good. Usually a case kept him focused and present, but there was something about this family that was pinging on his subconscious and keeping him on edge, and it wasn't just the surface details, bit was something else...something he couldn't quite grasp yet.

The door opened and Jenny Masterson walked in, Dani behind her. She was beautiful, there was no denying that. Even with her hair clasped back, her gold curls shone in the sun, her peaches and cream skin and bright blue eyes rounding off the picture. She looked like something out of a Klimt painting, Malcolm realised, which made the navy suit look even more incongruous.

"Ms Masterson, could you please sit down," Malcolm said. For a moment, he thought she'd insist she stand but she relented quickly, perching herself on the edge of the chair in front of the desk.

"You want to talk about the stained glass," she said, without preamble. She had been preparing herself for this conversation, which meant she knew something she thought she shouldn't share.

"Yes," Malcolm said, "Although the work kind of speaks for itself, don't you think?"

She slumped in her seat. "There wasn't anything physical going on," she said. "He hasn't really been able for that for a number of years." A half truth, Malcolm thought, they mightn't have been having sexual intercourse, but there certainly had been intimacy; the lack of eye contact, that nervous way she tucked at the edges of her jacket, all spoke to it.

"But there was an emotional component to it," he prompted.

Reluctantly, she nodded. "It was kind of sweet, really. I guess that's why I didn't realise it had gone too far until it was too late."

"When he commissioned the stained glass windows," Malcolm guessed, and she nodded.

"They're beautiful, really they are, but...I thought it was just a bit of skirt chasing, you know? He's always had a reputation for having wandering hands but that was as far as it went. Secretaries weren't wife material."

"Until you," he said. She closed her eyes and nodded and Malcolm leaned back in his chair. So that's why Robert wasn't as vindictive about Amelia's affair with Chance as he could have been. In fact… "Ms Masterson...Jenny?"

She looked up warily. "Yeah?"

"Did Robert pay Chance to sleep with his wife?" It was the only thing that made sense. Robert wasn't the type of man to give away money he didn't have to. If he's been the one who admitted infidelity, he'd have to pay out the full settlement, but if he could prove she had been sleeping with another man, he could cut her off without a dime.

Jenny Masterson nodded warily. "How did you know?"

"It was the only thing that made sense," he said simply. He could see Dani move restlessly out of the corner of his eye. She had figured it out too. Chance had another lover and they were probably the killer.

"We need to speak to Amelia again," Malcolm said, getting to his feet.

"She won't talk to us without a lawyer," Dani reminded him.

"I'm pretty sure she'll change her mind about that once she realises her life is in danger," he said, darting towards to the door. He pulled it open and found Ms O'Kelly outside it, her hand raised to knock.

"You're needed in the morning room, it's the room beside the drawing room" she said. "Mrs Alderson has been attacked.

"Where is Doctor Tanaka?" he asked.

"She's already there," she said.

The morning room was a crime scene investigator's nightmare, with the rest of the Alderson family milling around as Edrisa crouched over Amelia's body.

"Thank god," Edrisa said, as they entered the room. "I need my bag. She's been stabbed in the chest. They missed the heart but I think the blade hit the spleen."

"Where is it?" Dani asked.

"Down in the scullery, where I laid out Mr Burke. I don't need the whole bag, just the red satchel packed inside it." Dani nodded , sprinting out of the room and Malcolm shed his jacket as he crouched over Amelia.

"How bad is it?" he asked.

"Very bad," She's had one lung punctured as well and she's lost a lot of blood and I'm trying to keep up the pressure as much as I can, but I'm pretty sure she's suffering from internal bleeding."

Malcolm nodded in understanding, looking down into Amelia Alderson's face, her eyelashes fluttered as her breath rattled in her chest, but she was still conscious. He held her hand. "Mrs Alderson, squeeze if you can you hear me" It was slight, barely there, but it was a squeeze.

Malcolm smiled down at her. "Good," he said. "I know you're in pain and this is very difficult but did you recognise your killer. One squeeze for yes, two for no." Another solitary squeeze - that tightened into a death grip.

"Edrisa?" Malcolm asked, as Amelia's eyes rolled back into her head.

"I know," Edrisa said softly. "It's her lungs, They're filling up with blood. We're losing her."

Malcolm looked at her sharply. He wasn't sure if Edrisa could handle losing another patient. Belatedly, he realised this is one of those times he would have called his father for help. Now he couldn't even if he wanted to.

Amelia Alderson's hand went limp in his, and Edrisa closed her eyes. "Time, 4.03," was all she said. This time there was no CPR, there was no point. Her lungs were too shot.

Dani ran back into the room, bag in hand, her eyes quickly picking up what happened. "Damn."

"Damn, is that all you have to say?" William Alderson boomed. "I'm going to speak-"

"Mr Alderson!" Dani cut in sharply, causing him to blink at her in surprise. "This is an active crime scene, I would very much appreciate it if you vacated the room immediately and wait in a drawing room while we examine the area. Thank _you_."

William Alderson looked like he wanted to argue the point some more but he must have seen something in Dani's eyes that told him that was a bad idea. "Very well," he said. "But I will be talking to the Mayor about this."

Malcolm was pretty sure Dani said something like ' _knock yourself ou_ t' under her breath but he couldn't be sure. Edrisa was sitting back on her heels, a look of distress on her face. He felt his heart go out to her. He knew today was pretty much her worst nightmare come to life.

He glanced at the couch behind her and realised it was covered in blood. "She was sitting down when it happened?"

Edrisa took a deep shuddering breath. "I think so, she'd already slid off onto the floor by the time I got here. Beatrice found her and raised the alarm. I was on my way down from upstairs and came to help."

Malcolm sighed. "So the downward trajectory of the knife isn't an indicator of height," he said.

"Not a knife," Edrisa said dully. "It was larger blade, maybe a dagger or a smallsword."

"And there are plenty of those at hand," Malcolm said, eyeing the display of daggers over the fireplace. Unfortunately, none of them were handily missing.

Dani had spotted the same thing. "They must have have brought the blade with them,"

"Or just cleaned it down and put it back on the wall," Edrisa said, her voice bereft of its usual excitement. "I brought some luminol with me." She glanced at the satchel in Dani's hands. "It's still in the bag in the scullery though."

"I'll get it," Malcolm said, getting to his feet.

"Uh, you might want to clean yourself up while you're down there," Dan said.

Malcolm looked down at his blood splattered shirt. "Right, I'll do that." he picked up his jacket. Maybe it might cover up some of the damage if it didn't rinse out. "Do you need anything else, Edrisa?"

Edrisa let out a shaky breath."Yeah, I'll need my fragile evidence kit - it's the black plastic kit box near the bottom of the bag.

"Got it," he said, glancing at Dani, who nodded in understanding and crouched down beside Edrisa as he left the room. He stalked down the long corridor, his shoes echoing on the dark polished floors. One thing was for sure, they needed to get off this Island before one of them got in the firing line.

By the time he reached the scullery, his mind had gone through at least half a dozen possibilities. Beatrice, Abigail,Ophelia and Jenny were the most likely candidates, although there was Ann O'Kelly, the housekeeper, and the two house servants who had been doing an admirable job of staying invisible since they'd arrived.

He stepped into the scullery, his eyes scanning the room as he headed towards Edrisa's bag.. There was something off here, something- He slapped hiss forehead: of course, Chance's body, where had it gone? He eyed the shut door of the walk-in freezer. Surely Edrisa wouldn't have put him in there?"

But someone else might, someone who'd been paying attention and thought freezing his body would prevent them form collecting further evidence before they left the island. On instinct, he crouched down and poked through her used evidence bags. Both the pain and blood pressure medication was missing. Well that explained why they didn't bother poisoning Amelia and went straight for the dagger.

He looked through the freezer's window and, sure enough, there was a second body in there He stepped inside, shivering as shrugged on his jacket again and placed his hand on the body's arm and then chest. The extremities were already frozen but the main torso was still pliable. He didn't know what was best thing to do in this sort of situation. Should he remove the body or should he let it freeze completely and let Edrisa sort it out later in the mortuary?

The scrape of disturbed ice, caught Malcolm's attention and he turned to see the freezer door shut behind him. "No!" he cried out, rushing the door. But it was too late, the latch had already engaged and the shadow on the other side of the door had already slipped away. For a moment, his mind blanked in panic, His tremor lacing through his hand as he curled it into his chest. He tried to think.

_ I can create a place of peace and safety no matter where I am. I can create a place of peace and safety no matter where I am _ . The mantra had helped him escape a killer before, it might help again. 

He was in a small enclosed space with limited air. The temperature of the average walk-in freezer was  0° Fahrenheit and the ultraviolet light that had engaged when the door closed...well, that was just annoying. He glanced up. No fire suppression system, of course not. This was a private dwelling, not a lab. They might have a fire alarm in the scullery but not in here. 

What would kill him first, oxygen deprivation or the cold? If he stayed still, probably the cold, but if he moved around, that would speed up the depletion of his oxygen levels. 

“Great, just great,” he muttered. He needed to get out of here.

.And he needed to find out why a thirteen year old boy just tried to kill him.


	3. Chapter 3

It took him five minutes to cave and reach for the plastic that encased Robert Alderson. His jacket, while very nicely cut, wasn’t quite up to the task of saving him from hypothermia. He wrapped it around him, covering his head and ears and tried not to dwell on the corpse he’d stolen from. His slow shuffle around the freezer was his compromise between frostbite and asphyxia, but he doubted it was working He'd hoped the plastic sheeting would help him retain some body heat around his body as he kept his circulation going but, as the air misted in front of his face and his fingers and face began to go numb, he had a funny feeling he was only putting off the inevitable. 

He looked at his watch through the plastic sheeting. He had been trapped in here for eighteen minutes now. And nobody had come looking for him. It was beginning to worry him, if he were honest. He’d expected to be found by now. 

A series of possibilities presented themselves to him, none of them good. One, Dani and Edrisa were hurt or, worse, dead; two, Dani and Edrisa are alive but trapped elsewhere in the house; three, Dani and Edrisa are alive and well but have been distracted from searching for him. 

Malcolm looked out the small freezer window, catching his neon reflection in the glass. Frost was already clinging to his eyelashes and his nose was definitely on the ruddy side He found himself hoping fervently that it was the latter option and not one of the former two. Dani might be armed but she was definitely outnumbered, and if there was one thing Malcolm Bright nee Whitley knew, it was the lengths a person will go to, in order to protect their family.

“Too true, son. Something you should have thought about before you started rattling the cage, eh?”

Malcolm sighed, turning to see a familiar figure perched on the edge of the butcher’s table, peering into Roger Alderson’s face. “Please, go away,”

Martin Whitley grinned cheerily. “Well, I wish I could oblige, Malcolm, but seeing as this is the stress induced hallucination portion of your evening, I can’t really do much about it. can I? This is all on you.” 

“Of course it is,” Malcolm sighed, he closed his eyes and took a deep breath. _I can create a place of peace and safety no matter where I am. I can create a place of peace and safety no matter where I am_. …

“Tut, tut, tut, that isn’t going to work Malcolm, you know it isn’t. We both know it isn’t me that really frightens you, it’s yourself. You’ve always felt safe around me, even when you really, really shouldn’t.”

“Can’t you let me freeze to death in peace?” Malcolm asked, hating the plaintive note in his voice. 

“Oh now, we couldn’t have that,” Martin said. “Nobody should die alone. Am I right Eve?”

Malcolm felt his chest tighten painfully as the body behind his father, the one who should have been Chance Burke, slowly sat up. She wore a resplendent white dress, like the one in his dreams. She smiled at Martin, her eyes clear of the anger she had shown him in real life. “That’s right, Mr Whitley,” she said. Dying alone is not what it’s cracked up to be.”

“And Eve should know,” Martin mused. “Dying at the hands of Endicott’s killer for hire mustn't have been pretty. I bet you get fired up even remembering that; maybe it even eases the guilt you feel for disposing of his body?”

“If in fact he ever felt guilt at all,” Eve said. 

_“Another_ good point,” Martin said. “She’s really on fire today, isn’t she?”

Malcolm ducked his dead down, watching his feet as he shuffled along. If he didn’t look, maybe they would fade away. He was beginning to feel drowsy, which wasn’t a good sign. Hypothermia was becoming a definite possibility.

“Better keep moving, son, you don’t want to lose those fingers and toes.”

Malcolm nearly rolled his eyes but stopped himself in time. Things were pretty bad when you started getting passive aggressive with your own hallucinations. 

“He’s ignoring you,” said Eve’s spector.

“Yes, he does that a lot. Malcolm was always a bit of a sulker. One of his failings, I believe. Especially in a situation like this. We are figments of his mind after all. We’re here to _help_ him -perhaps he’ll talk to the other guy.”

Malcolm glanced up and immediately regretted it. The body on the other table had begun to move, using its elbows to prop itself up, The wound that ripped across his vocal shorts was a gory mess and his torso shredded, his wounds weeping through the expensive fabric. 

“Probably not,” Nicholas Enidcott said, almost cheerily. “He did try to sweep me under the rug, after all.”

“Well, technically, he rolled you up in the living room rug and fedexed you to Estonia,” Martin drawled. “I’ve never been more proud.”

“For the final time, I didn’t mail him to Estonia, I-” He shook his head. Why was he arguing with himself? He must be losing it.

“That’s not why you’re arguing with yourself,” Eve said softly, dropping her bare feet to the floor. Her dress floated around her as she went to stand beside Martin. “You’re distracting yourself from the one question you're trying to avoid. What do we three have in common and why are you trying so hard to ignore it.”

“Well, we all know why,” Martin drawled.. “I mean, consider the lengths _you_ went to, trying to find your sister. You insinuated yourself into my family, slithered into my son’s bed-”

“Enough, I don’t think I can take anymore of this,” Malcolm sighed. 

“Quite right,” Endicott said. “Now if you could do us all a favour and slip into unconsciousness so we can fade away again, that would be nice.”

Malcolm ignored him and shuffled another few feet, it had become harder to move, although he wasn’t sure if that was because the plastic was beginning to stiffen with ice or his body was shutting down. His mind was becoming a little muddled.

Which was one of the tell tale signs of hypothermia, now that he thought about it. He was running out of time. This Martin Whitly might be a figment of his own mind, but he did have a point. There must be a reason why his mind conjured all three of them up. 

He turned to look at them. “Eve, you were a good person. I...I cared about you,” he said. “And I understood why you left. You cared about your sister. You wanted to help her, protect her, I know what that’s like.”

“His eyes darted to Endicott. “Which means I know why you’re here too. You’re my own personal hell. Proof of the lengths I’m prepared to go to, to protect my family. I thought I had limits, I thought I had a line I wouldn’t cross, but I was wrong.”

“You’re a good brother, Malcolm, that isn’t something to be ashamed of,” Martin said, in that soft warm voice that reminded him of his childhood in the most painful of ways.

“And you Dr Whitly” he said. _Dad,_ he thought. “Remind me every day that I'm only too capable of loving a monster. What does that say about me?” He leaned against the outer wall of the fridge. He could feel his eyes begin to close. Drowsiness, another one of the symptoms of Hypothermia, he didn’t have much longer. 

His father was standing over him now. When had he slid to the floor? “It’s not a crime to love your family, son,” he said.

“No, but what do you call it when you enable them?” Malcolm murmured, as that familiar quiet dread bubbled up inside him. He loved his sister, but that didn’t mean he couldn’t see her flaws. He had told Ainsley that her memory loss was due to the trauma, but it was also a common symptom of those who have experienced a triggered psychotic episode. 

If it happened again, what would he do? Would he just keep cleaning up after her, hiding her bodies? He shivered at the memory of it, a flush of shame running through him as he realised he’d actually felt pleasure in the act. 

“Oh, how you’ve grown,” Martin said, his voice the very epitome of the proud father. “You were too young to properly understand what I was sharing with you as a child, I know that now, but you’ve evolved. You can see what I was trying to show you now. We Whitlys….there is a bond we share that nobody else can truly understand.”

“Dr Whitly,” Malcolm said. “Would you please shut up.”

“But you’re dying, Malcolm, can’t you see it?” Martin said. “This might be my only chance to tell you what I really feel.”

Malcolm let out a snort. “Now I know you’re a figment of my imagination. You’ve never been honest with me. You’re too afraid of me leaving you. I’m your vicarious connection to the outside world.”

“Well now I’m hurt,” Martin said, pouting. 

“You’re a predatory psychopath, your feelings can’t be hurt,” Malcolm muttered. “And manipulation is not love.” He closed his eyes, letting the fog drift over him. He had hung on long enough, hadn’t he? It was time to sleep.

“Malcolm,” his father said.

_“Malcolm”_

A hand stroked his hair, he heard his father’s voice. “Don’t worry, Malcolm, I’m not letting you go that easily.”

_“Malcolm, hold on!”_

Warmth, he felt warmth. Was this the end?

_“Shit, Edrisa, why won’t he wake up?”_

_“Give him a few moments. His heart rate has evened out. The electric blankets seemed to be doing the trick. Make some tea - lots of sugar.”_

He tried to open his eyes but they wouldn’t cooperate. His limbs felt heavy, like he was half asleep. 

_“Malcolm, Malcolm, can you hear me?”_

_Yes_ , he tried to say, but what came out was a slurred mess. 

_“Oh, thank goodness - Dani, he’s regaining consciousness!”_

Was he? It sure didn’t feel like it. 

_“Don’t try to say anything, Malcolm, just concentrate on trying to open your eyes.”_

This time, his eyelids slid open and Edrisa and Dani’s relieved faces came into focus. “Hi,” he said. His voice sounded off, a little too gruff, but at least he sounded intelligible.

“Hey,” Dani said, holding up a streaming mug “You need to drink this.”

It took them a few minutes to prop himself up with the electric blankets wrapped around his torso but eventually he was able to take a sip. It tasted awful, which wasn’t surprising since it had at least ten spoons of sugar in it. 

“Yeah, sorry about that,”Dani said, with a small laugh. “But Edrisa said the sugar was important. You gave us a scare.”

“That makes three of us,” he said, as a shiver went through him. He felt like he could sleep for a week but, otherwise, he felt remarkably good; no ominous tingling or loss of feeling in his extremities.

“You got lucky,” Edrisa said, her voice uncharacteristically muted. “The plastic wrapping probably saved your life.”

“Huh, good to know,” Malcolm said, as he looked down at his bare legs.. “Where are my clothes?”

“In the dryer,” Dani said. “They should be ready soon.

Malcolm swallowed down a wince as he imagined his thousand dollar suit going through a heat cycle. He supposed he was getting off lightly. Neither of them had made a joke about getting him naked yet, which was probably a testament to how much he’d scared them. 

“It was Bobby,” he said.

Dani nodded. “Yeah, we figured it out eventually, although his sister tried to cover for him. We have him locked into one of the upstairs bedrooms. The family isn’t happy about it, but he eventually caved when he realised we were going to comb the house for you. He confessed to everything. 

Malcolm felt his heart sink. “Everything?”

Dani eyed him, suddenly wary. “Yeah, why?”

“Because Bobby may have locked me into the freezer but he isn’t the murderer, Abigail is,” he said. “And we need to find her quickly because I don’t think she’s finished.”

* * *

Two hours later, they still hadn’t tracked Abigail Cambridge down. Which meant they were now reduced to searching the entire Island. Dani had thrown him a wary look as he’d lifted a sword from its display hook but said nothing. None of them knew how well Abigail was armed

This isn’t good” Malcolm said, as he watched the sun dip close to the treeline. “We’re going to lose the light soon.”

“And she’s probably not even out here,” Dani muttered. “You could hide an army in that medieval nightmare they call a house.” She looked around. “Where has Edrisa gone to? I knew we should have left her behind.”

Malcolm said nothing as he glanced around, looking for her. He hadn’t voiced his fears aloud to Dani, but there was no way he was going to leave Edrisa alone in that house with that family. From now on, they went everywhere together. “Edrisa?”

“Here!” A disembodied voice said. “Look what I found!” The medical examiner popped up out of the undergrowth, making herself visible again. She held a flower delicately in her gloved hand. 

“Monkshood,” Malcolm said. “You’ve found our weapon. That means she’s familiar enough with the terrain to track down where it grows.”

“Which _isn’t_ a good thing,” Dani reminded him.

Malcolm pulled a face. She was right. They were wandering around in a strange woods with a killer who knew every inch of it. That didn’t bode well for their future. “We should at least walk back to the dock before we go back. It find it unlikely Abigail didn’t leave herself a means of escape. "

Dani slowly nodded her head. “I still can’t believe it was her,” she admitted. “She seemed the most normal of them.”

“And she still is, relatively speaking,” Malcolm said. “She didn’t kill them out of rage, or some sort of psychopathology, she did it for the money.”

“How did you figure it out, though,” she said. “That it was her, not Bobby.”

“Well, you remember how I said that some things weren’t matching up. That some of the killer’s actions seemed cool and calculated, like the poisonings, while others seemed clumsy or panicked-”

“Like the way the phone line was cut and the jammer activated, yeah,” Dani said, nodding.

“Well, the reason why they didn’t match up was because they weren’t done by the same person. It was Abigail who murdered her grandfather and Chance Burke, but it was Bobby who tried to make sure she wasn’t caught. He was trying to protect her.” Some part of him had known that from the very beginning, he realised. 

“It wasn’t very smart of him,” Dani said. “He just made himself an accessory to murder.”

“She’s his sister,” Malcolm said “Some people will do anything for their family, especially if that family member is the only one who has ever shown him even a smidgeon of unconditional love.”

Dani looked at him sharply and Malcolm realised he may have said a little too much. 

“But I don’t understand why she did it?” Edrisa said, ploughing through the sudden uncomfortable silence. “Why did she kill them? What was the motive?”

“Well, it turns out William was right, after all. It _was_ about the will.”

Dani folded her arms. “Do tell.”

Malcolm started walking again. “I think it was the father’s emotional disengagement that first set my alarm bells ringing,” he said. “ That lack of enmeshment with his family seemed curious. It usually indicates some kind of psychopathology but he didn't have any of the other indicators, which only left the one other major cause of emotional disengagement - addiction. He didn’t have the telltale physical signs of alcohol or drug addiction, which left only door number three.”

“He’s a gambler,” Dani said. “They’re having money issues.”

“Yes,” Malcolm agreed. “Which means Alexander Cambridge’s addiction must be all consuming. It takes real effort to gamble away a fortune that big.”

“It must have seemed like a godsend when Robert decided to leave the money to Bobby instead of William,” Dani said, frowning slightly. “But that only gave her a motive to kill the grandfather. Why did she kill Chance Burke?”

“You know, that puzzled me for a while too,” Malcolm said. “But then I remembered what my father said about Robert. He was a narcissistic sociopath who liked to toy with the lives of his family members and was as petty as hell. He actually paid a man to sleep with his wife in order to divest her of a few million dollars. What other lengths would he go to, to get his own way?” 

“I’m sure you’re about to tell us,” Dani said.

Malcolm grinned. “The will was a feint,” he explained. “Robert was in love with Jenny Merryweather, or as close to in love as a sociopath can get, but he knew William would throw as many obstacles in his path as possible if he found out. Firstly because a new wife meant there was a possible new sibling to share the honeypot.”

“And secondly, because he was sleeping with Jenny,” Dani said.

“Exactly!” Malcolm said. “Robert needed to distract William and get him to take his eyes off the ball. He wrote up the new will and had Abigail and Chance sign it, and then almost immediately voided it with yet another one - not that they knew that at the time. He still needed one of them to spill the beans.”

“Which happened almost immediately,” Dani said. “William knew Bobby was going to inherit everything in the new will.”

“And after that, well, a number of things could have happened,” Malcolm said. “All with pretty much the same end result. My guess is Abigail found out there was yet another will and destroyed it, probably with Chance's help-”

“Because they were lovers,” Dani said, realisation hitting her. “The way you said he called out her name when she entered his room. He wasn’t hallucinating, he knew exactly who was there - and was begging for his life.”

“In vain, it turns out,” Malcolm said. Because Bobby wasn’t the only one who would do anything for family, he thought. He felt more than a sliver of sympathy for Abigail. It was a classic example of destructive parentification, in which the child takes on the parental role as the parent falls further into his addictive habits. He knew the lengths one would go to in that situation. With an incarcerated father and a traumatised mother who’d begun to spend a little too much time day drinking, Malcolm had first hand experience of it, growing up. “We should keep going,” he said aloud. 

They made it to the dock as the sun hit the horizon, and Edrisa squinted, lifting her hand to shield her glasses as she looked out over the water. “Is that a boat?” she asked, pointing. 

Malcolm followed her finger. Sure enough, a boat seemed to be heading in their direction. He was vaguely aware of Dani unholstering her gun and felt a moment of unease. There was something off about this. “Boats are too easy to track,” he said aloud. “I’d have used a helicopter.”

“Yeah, well, their helicopter is a trash pile in the middle of their courtyard,” Dani said. “Maybe this was her plan B.”

“A family like this owns more than one helicopter,” Malcolm said. “And she would never have relied on Chance’s piloting skills for her escape.”

“Maybe it’s Lieutenant Arroyo,” Edrisa said. “He might have got worried.”

Malcolm’s eyes narrowed as the boat grew closer. He still couldn’t pick out a face but there was something about the way the figure on the prow moved… He gulped dryly as he realised Gil wasn’t the only one who might have come looking for them when he fell off the grid.

“We need to fall back” he got out, stumbling back. “Quick! Run for the trees.”

“Bright?” Dani looked at him as if he’d grown an extra head. 

“It’s my father,” Malcolm said. “And he’s not alone, If Martin is on the prow, that means someone else is steering the boat. We’re outnumbered and most probably outgunned. We need to run and find ourselves a better position of defense.”

She tilted her head at him. “I’m a police officer, Malcolm, I can’t do that.”

“Dani, please, do as I ask. You have no idea of what he’s capable of.”

“I’ve read the files.”

Malcolm pulled his hand through his hair. How could he explain the full horror of what his father was capable of? “Those files don’t tell you everything, Dani. You think my father hasn’t come prepared to take you out? You’re his greatest threat on this Island. He probably already has you in his sights and we’re out in the open here.” He grabbed Edrisa’s hand, pulling her away from the water’s edge. “We’re going back to the house.”

“Great, running from one killer into the arms of the other,” Dani said, not budging from her position.

“Killers, Dani,” he reminded her. “Plural, all of whom will not only show no hesitation but also derive pleasure from our deaths. They’re addicts who haven’t had a fix in years. Do you really want to be their first meal?” he watched as the boat veered right. “They’ve spotted us. Which means they’re going to beach the boat somewhere else.”

“We’ll follow the coastline,” Dani said.

“Dani,” Malcolm said. “If we try to keep up with the boat we’ll be winded by the time we catch up. It’s better we get ahead of them. We know where they’re going. Lets get there first.”

Grudgingly, she holstered her. “You better be right about this.”

Malcolm stayed silent, as he started running towards the house, dragging Edrisa with him. Edrisa was looking decidedly green around the gills but Dani easily caught up with him and they set a jogging pace. 

Why hadn’t he seen this coming? For some strange reason, he’d thought that it would be just him and his father, he hadn’t thought about the potential collateral damage. Even the thought of his father getting his hands on Dani or Edrisa was sending him onto a panic. 

_I can create a place of peace and safety no matter where I am. I can create a place of peace and safety no matter where I am_.

Yeah, that wasn’t working. 

Dread filled his veins. He knew his father wouldn’t kill him. No, the fate Martin Whitly had in store for him was so much worse, and Malcolm knew him well enough to be afraid for Dani and Edrisa. In his eyes, they would be leverage, and Malcolm wasn’t sure if he had the courage to say no to him if their lives were on the line.

Or the will to say no to him, if he were being honest with himself. 

And that wasn’t even factoring who was with him. Friar Pete and Hector were definite possibilities, and Bert, Malcolm thought, and then there was Tevin; he’d have to watch his back with that one if he didn’t want an axe buried there. 

He needed a plan, one that he knew Dani wouldn’t approve of, in order to beat his father. He had to unlock that part of him that he didn’t like to admit was there. The part that knows how to manipulate a person, how to turn them against themselves. The part that’s willing to hurt someone, maybe even kill them. Not because his life was on the line, but because the life of someone he cared about was. It was the lesson he'd learned when he carved up Endicott’s body, when he got rid of the murder weapon, and when he tired to convince Ainsley to forget.

Not that Ainsley took his advice. 

He shied away from that thought. His fears are not reality, he told himself firmly. you have no actual proof that Ainsley suffers from the same psychopathology as our father.

Not yet, at least. 

Oh yes, Martin Whitly had thought this out perfectly, Malcolm thought, as the looming castle came back into view. He had stacked the odds firmly in his favour and cornered Malcolm into a situation where he had no choice but to let that part of him out. 

He looked down at his hand. It wasn’t shaking. Malcolm wasn't sure that was a good thing. 

Beatrice Cambridge was waiting for them when they made it to the courtyard. “I’m sorry, but William has let this go on long enough. I’m going to ask you to leave and not come back until you have a warrant.”

“Exigent circumstances,” Dani said crisply, we don’t need a warrant.”

“Well, I think my lawyer may have something-”

Mrs Cambridge,” Malcolm interrupted. I know it’s been a few decades but you do know who I am, right? Your daughter must have told you. I’m Malcolm Whitly, you used to be friends with my mother?” There was a sliver of recognition in her eyes, then fear. He was used to that reaction but it still stung. 

“My daughter neglected to mention that fact.” she said.

“And have you been keeping up with the news recently?”

“Your father escaped custody,” she said, her eyes fluttering as she tried to keep up with the rapidly changing landscape of their conversation. 

“Yes,” Malcolm said. “And now he’s here and he’s not alone. Does that portcullis work or is it just for show?”

Her face blanched, going blank with terror. “Yes,” she breathed. “It’s motorised. The switch is inside.”

Malcolm’s eyes darted over to Dani, who belted towards the door. A few moments later, the portcullis began to drop and Malcolm adjusted the grip he had on his blade. 

“How bad is this going to get?” Edrisa asked softly. 

“Well, they’re going to get in sooner or later, and then it depends on whether pragmatism has trumped their natural inclinations.”

“What do you mean?” Beatrice asked shakily

“Well, as you know, my father likes to kill with a scalpel, while Tevin prefers to use an axe. Friar Pete likes to flay his victims alive and Hector prefers a knife. I’m not sure what Burt’s likes to use but, with his explosive temper, I suspect he uses his fists.” He tugged Edrisa into the foyer, Beatrice in tow. It was best if they stayed out of his father's line of sight for a long as possible. It would reduce the possibility of impulsive actions. 

“You say that like it’s a good thing,” Edrisa said, as she extricated her hand from his grip and went to stand beside Dani. Maybe he was hanging on a little too tightly, but Dani could take care of herself and knew exactly what she was dealing with, while Edrisa’s natural inclination to run headlong into a deadly situation because something shiny caught her eye definitely put her at risk. 

“It _is_ a good thing,” Malcolm insisted. “They derive their pleasure from bodilly contact with their victims, which means they’re less likely to use long ranged weapons. They may have guns, but they won’t use them unless they have to. A bullet won’t feed their habit.”

“Yeah, still not seeing the upside to that,” Dani said. 

“It gives us time,” Malcolm said, turning to Beatrice. “You need to convince your son to turn off the jammer.”

“I can't do that,” Beatrice said, letting her eyes fall to the ground. 

Malcolm’s heart sank. “You let him out, didn’t you?”

“He’s just a boy!” She protested. “He doesn’t deserve this!”

“He’s a minor, comes from a wealthy background, and didn’t actually kill anyone,” Malcolm told her. “He won’t serve time in Juvenile Detention, Beatrice, and his file will be sealed when he reaches eighteen.”

Beatrice glared at him. “Why should I believe you?”

Malcolm sighed. “I understand, really I do, but you’re not evaluating the true risk to your son’s future right now. He is in imminent danger of losing his life today, as are you all. We need to contact the mainland as soon as possible or none of us may be alive by morning.” Well, he might be, but he was pretty sure nobody needed to hear that right now. 

“Is there another entrance from outside the curtain wall?” he asked aloud, her hesitation told him his answer. “Where is it?”

“It’s a tunnel, it extends from the kitchens to the woods,” she said reluctantly.

What was it with old families and their secret tunnels, Malcolm thought, sighing in exasperation. “Right, so we need a way to barricade the kitchen,” he said. “Anything else.”

“Well, there is the servant's exit, but that is kept locked at all times.” Beatrice said. “Peterson has the key.” Footsteps signalled the arrival of the rest of the family, and Malcolm braced himself for impact. 

“What the hell is going on here?” William Alderson boomed. “Beatrice, I thought you were going to send him on his way.”

Malcolm resisted the urge to roll his eyes. As if he could brush off the pursuit of his fugitive niece as if it were a gnat. Had he really thought they’d toddle off, cap in hand, at Beatrice’s say so? “Mr Alderson,” he said. “The situation has escalated.”

“He’s a Whitley,” Beatrice burst out. “Martin’s kid.”

William’s eyes narrowed. “What is the meaning of this?” he asked. “What the hell is going on here?”

“No time, Mr Alderson,” Malcolm said. “Martin Whitly has just made land on the island, along with his fellow escapees. We need to find the cell phone jammer and you need to arm yourself.” he looked around. “Where is Peterson?”

But William Alderson was in no mood to discuss the location of his groundskeeper. “What do you mean your father is on the island? What is the meaning of this? I want you and your father off this Island right _now!”_

_I can create a place of peace and safety no matter where I am._

Malcolm took a deep breath. “Mr Alderson, I’d love to oblige, really I would, but even putting aside the fact we’re here to bring your niece and nephew into custody. There is the simple matter that my father is not going to go away just because you give him a stern talking to. You and your family are in clear and present danger, and we need to get help here as soon as possible - which _means,_ we need to disable the cell phone jammer.”

“I didn’t know what you mean,” William bluffed.

Malcolm closed his eyes. This was getting them nowhere. 

“Well, maybe you’ll understand what I'm saying,” Dani said, stepping in. “If you don’t help us find the cellphone jammer, I’ll arrest you for accessory after the fact and lock you up until we’ve dealt with the situation.”

“You wouldn’t dare.” he hissed.

“Try me,” Dani said. “Martin Whitly killed twenty three people in cold blood, and now he’s here and brought his serial killers friends with him. Do you really think he’s going to leave this Island without having a little fun with you first. From what I’ve heard, he isn’t exactly a fan of the Aldersons. Something about your pervy father hitting on his wife while she was still in high school?” His face paled as he glanced back at the rest of the family, who stared back at him like frightened sheep. Probably not his most charitable thought, Malcolm realised , but apt.

“I can’t be sure, but he’s probably hidden it in his bedroom. First floor, third door on the right,” he eventually said.

“I’ll find it,” Edrisa said, heading for the stairs. “I’ve had the most experience pulling apart a room for evidence.” 

Malcolm felt a flash of fear as she disappeared up the stairs but tamped it down.He couldn’t keep tabs on everything right now. He needed to triage the situation. “We need to barricade the kitchen exit and find Peterson to make sure the other exit is secure. “He said. “The longer we can keep them out, the better. Let’s not make it easy for them.”

* * *

It took them a few minutes, but he and Dani managed to maneuver a kitchen display cabinet in front of the tunnel exit. Dani locked the kitchen door and pocketed the key. “That should slow them down,” she muttered.

Malcolm tried to smile reassuringly at her but the truth was he didn’t think the tunnel was the greatest threat to their safety. Even if his father knew of its existence, he’d still have to find the other side of it in the woods. No, it was the servant’s entrance he was the most worried about. It wouldn’t take them long to identify it and somehow he doubted the door had its own personal portcullis. 

A sudden chirp in his jacket pocket made him jump and he fished out his phone. “I guess Edrisa found the jammer,” he muttered. 

Dani promptly pulled out her own phone and began to dial. “Gil,” she said. “We have a situation here…”

Malcolm didn’t bother to listen to the rest of the conversation. He had no doubt Dani was going to call out the Cavalry to help them. No, he was much more worried about the 27 calls he’d missed from an unknown number. He held the phone up to his ear.

_“Malcolm, is something wrong with your phone, I keep going to Voicemail.”_

_“Malcolm, now this is really unfair. You know we need to talk.”_

_“Malcolm, this is not funny, pick up your phone.”_

_“Now, my boy, I know you’re a little upset with me, but that is no reason to ignore me.”_

_“Okay, now I’m getting worried. It’s one thing ignoring me but ignoring your mother too? I’m most disappointed.”_

_“And Ainsley too. This is unlike you, son. I’m coming to find you-”_

Malcolm hung up, he didn’t need to hear the rest. He had known this would happen sooner or later, that his father’s need to manipulate him would eventually overcome his cautiousness. He rang his mother.

_“Malcolm, where have you been?”_

“Sorry, Mother, cell phone issues,” he said. “Martin Whitly was in touch with you?”

_“Well, that is one way of putting it. He’s such an insufferable nag. I would have hung up but Gil insisted we try and trace the call.”_

Malcolm closed his eyes. “Think, Mother what did he say to you when he realised you hadn’t been in contact with me.”

“Oh, nothing that made sense. Something about the Aldersons being a bunch of old pirates which, honestly, he kind of had a point about, but all the old families have skeletons in their closets.”

“Trust me, mother, I know,” Malcolm said dryly. “Did he go into any specifics?”

There was a pause on the other side of the line. _“Why, what’s going on, Malcolm?”_

“So that’s a no?”” Malcolm asked.

_“Don’t try to pretend you didn’t hear my question, Malcolm-”_

“Sorry, Mother, Detective Powell is trying to catch my attention. Talk to you soon.”

Dani looked unimpressed with him. “You’re a little old to lie to your Mom, aren’t you?”

“Is Gil sending help?” he asked, as he dialled Ainsley’s number. 

“They’re sending out a SWAT team by helicopter,” Dani said. They should be here in about 20 minutes - and don’t think this is the end of this conversation. You are not allowed to use my name as an excuse to hang up on your Mom, you hear me?”

“Yes, ma’am,” Malcolm said automatically, ducking his head as she glared at him. Luckily, Ainsley picked that exact moment to pick up her phone. 

_“Malcolm, are you okay?”_

“I’m fine Ainsley, we just didn’t have any cell coverage for a while,” he said, trying to inject as much reassurance into his voice as he could. “Listen, I know Dad was in touch with you-”

 _“Don’t worry, I didn’t tell him where you are_ ,” she said.

“Yeah, about that, he kind of already knows where I am.”

_“What do you mean? Do you - oh my goodness, Malcolm, is he there?”_

“Lets just say he’s nearby,” Malcolm prevaricated. “So what did he say?”

“ _Oh, I don’t know, Malcolm, the usual?”_ Ainsley snapped. _“ He kept talking about how he needed to help you because you’re going through a trying time right now. Whatever that means.”_

Malcolm fisted his shaking hand. “And you, how did he say he was going to help you?”

There was a pause. One that went on a little too long. _“What the hell are you talking about, Malcolm?”_

He wasn’t the only Whitly who was good at prevarication. He caught Dani’s eyes, she was beginning to look more than a little impatient _._ “Never mind, talk to you later, Ainsley.”

_“Wait, Mal-”_

He hung up, frowning as it immediately began to ring again. “It’s Edrisa,” he said, looking at the ID before he answered.

 _“We’ve got a problem,”_ Edrisa said. “ _The Aldersons found Peterson and he’s dead. Blunt force trauma to the head.”_

“Did he still have his keys on him?” Malcolm asked, as he hurried down the hall. “Where are you?”

_“I’m in the drawing room and no, his keys are missing.”_

“What is going on,” Dani hissed. 

“Peterson is dead, which probably means it was Abigail who took his keys.” Malcolm said to Dani, putting his phone on speaker. “Edrisa, have you seen any signs of Bobby?”

 _“Well, his drawers were all pulled open and it looked like he'd gone through his wardrobe in a hurry,_ ” Edrisa said. “ _My money says he’s made a run for it.”_

“Damn it,” Malcolm said, as he hung up. We’re going to have to assume my father has already apprehended them.”

“Well we know Abigail doesn’t seem to have a problem killing people,” Dani muttered as they reached the main landing “Maybe they’ll take each other out.”

“Actually, I’m afraid poor Abigail didn’t really have it in her to survive a direct confrontation.”

Malcolm froze, vaguely aware of Dani pulling her gun out as he looked up at the figure standing on the stairs. His father was wearing a bland looking suit and had trimmed his beard, and wouldn’t have looked out of place strolling along the upper east side - if it weren't for the blood splatter on his shirt. 

“You look surprised, my boy, surely you’ve listened to my messages?”

“She and Ainsley went to school together,” he eventually said. 

“Really?” his father exclaimed. “Well, I’m glad I made it quick then. 

Something gave inside Malcolm. Abigail may have been a killer but he had understood her.” You didn’t have to do that,” he said.

“Actually, I kind of did,” Martin said, as he began to descend the stairs. An object glinted in his hand, a scalpel. “She was feisty.”

“Don’t make another move, Dr. Whitly,” Dani said. “Or I will shoot you.”

Martin tutted under his breath. “Oh, I’m afraid you’re not going to do any such thing,” he said. “Because I have hostages.” He smiled beatifically, and Malcolm felt his stomach lurch. This was not good. He pulled out his phone again and quickly redialled Edrisa’s number. She didn’t pick up.

He looked up at his Father. “So what’s your next move, Dr Whitly. I’m sure you didn’t come all this way just to check up on me.”

“Oh, don’t sell yourself short, my boy,” he said. “I really was worried about you. You should answer your phone.”

“Cell phone jammer,” Malcolm said succinctly.

“Yes, I noticed that when we landed,” his father said. “Although you seem to have rectified that problem, which presumably means Gil is on his way here.” Glee shone in his eyes and Malcolm knew that he had to make sure his father and Gil didn’t cross paths today. 

“So, what now?” he asked

“Now I put cuffs on him,” Dani said firmly, stepping firmly.

“Dani, no!” Martin moved so quickly, Malcolm didn’t quite know how it happened. All he knew was that his father had a blade at Dani’s throat and her gun in his other hand. “Don’t kill her.”

“Well, I have to be honest, I don’t think I can indulge you here, my boy,” Martin drawled. “I mean, I like Dani, really I do, and we worked so well together before, but you know better than I how good a cop she is. I can’t really let her go free now, can I?”

Malcolm really didn’t like the way his eyes lingered on Dani’s carotid artery. “Her handcuffs,” he burst out. “You can cuff her.”

“Bright, _no.”_

But Malcolm ignored her. She may feel betrayed but at least she’d be alive. “You have her gun. If you cuff her to banister, she won’t be a threat to you anymore. You can let her live.” He took a breath and used his final gambit. _“Please_ , Dad.”

It worked, Malcolm watched as his father sighed dramatically. “Oh very well, but you and I are going to have a serious chat about your tendency to emotionally manipulate me. That’s not a very healthy habit.” Malcolm looked away as Dani glared at him. It was going to be a while before she forgave him for this, if ever. The cuffs clicked closed and Malcolm stepped back to admire his handiwork, pocketing the key.

“What now?” Malcolm asked hoarsely. 

“Well, now we join the others in the drawing room,” his father said cheerfully. “By the way, what happened to your suit? It’s in an awful state.”

* * *

The first thing Malcolm noticed when he entered the drawing room was that there were only three of his father’s fellow inmates in the room: Tevin, Hector, and Brother Pete. “Where is Burt?” he asked. 

“Oh, he’s with the boat,” Martin said. “We thought it best to not leave it unattended and he is the only one of us who can steer it.”

Malcolm threw his father a sideways look. That was a lie, his father used to go boating a lot when he was younger. What was he up to? He watched the way his father twisted the scalpel in his hand. He had tucked Dani’s gun away before they’d entered the room, which told Malcolm this alliance was even more tenuous than he'd originally thought. Hector's hand tightened on Edrisa’s shoulder as she perched precariously on the edge of an armchair. “Are you all right, Edrisa?” he asked. 

Edrisa summoned up a watery smile. “I’m okay,” she said. “Although I can’t say the same for Mr Alderson.” Malcolm followed her glance and spotted a pair of expensive shoes sticking out from behind the couch.

“I’m afraid, William refused to take direction and I had to deal with him accordingly,” Brother Pete said. He held a rapier in his hand. 

“They killed Abigail,” Beatrice said. She sounded broken. Malcolm looked around the room. There was no sign of Bobby. Had he managed to find a way to escape?

Tevin stood in front of the fireplace, tapping the handle of an axe into his palm as he studied the room in anticipation. There was a slight chance he might convince the others to leave the room without killing anyone else but Tevin wouldn’t be satisfied with that. He had an axe and he was going to use it. He scanned the rest of the room. Beatrice and Alexander, Janet and Ophelia and Anne O’Kelly... “Where is Amelia?”

“Ah,” his father said. “I’m afraid she may have met with a little accident.

“She disrespected me,” Hector said. “I couldn’t allow that.”

Malcolm bit his tongue before he asked about the rest of the household staff. They had managed to stay out of sight since he’d arrived this morning, perhaps they’d be lucky enough to avoid detection if he didn’t bring them up.

And then there was also the little matter of Bobby. Had he managed to give them the slip also? He turned to his father “So what’s the plan?”

“The plan was we get the money from these motherfuckers’s safe and then get the hell off this Island,” Hector butted in. “But Martin insisted he find you.”

“Well, a father’s concern about his son’s well being is only natural,” Father Pete said.

“I just don’t see why we always end up doing what he says,” Hector said, his grip tightening on Edrisa’s shoulder. “I only wanted to have some alone time with the lovely medical examiner here. It’s been a long while, after all.”

Malcolm looked away from the terror radiating on Edrisa’s face. “I’m afraid, you may have to wait a little longer before you revisit your former tendencies, Hector.” he said. “The police are on their way.”

Father Pete stiffened. “How long do we have?”

“Not long,” his father said. “Did you get the money?”

The defrocked Brother nodded. “I emptied the safe. That’s a lot of petty cash for one family.”

“Well, you know what they say. Everything is relative,” his father said. “Time to go.”

“I’m bringing the lady with us,” Hector insisted, and Malcolm could feel his father’s eyes rest on him. 

“Well, if you insist,” he said. “I’m sure Malcolm would appreciate having a friend come along with us.” And by friend, he meant hostage. On the one hand, Malcom was relieved. A hostage was only useful if they were kept alive, but it also meant Edrisa was going to have a really bad day and he wasn’t sure if she was able to handle that.

And he really didn't like the way Hector was looking at Edrisa. 

His eyes slid to his father. He had a smile painted on but he didn't look very happy. Martin Whitly was, by his nature, a lone predator. Oh sure, he had in the past played the part of mentor, but he was too much of a narcissist to truly share the stage. He and Ainsley were the only exceptions to the rule, as he saw his children as natural extensions of himself. Not healthy, he knew, but still a very real relationship to Martin 's mind. 

He hadn’t thought he could feel more uneasy than he already did, but it seemed he was wrong. “Hostages will slow you down,” he said softly. “You’d be better off just running for it.”

“And leave you behind with this horrid family?” Martin asked. “What kind of father would I be if I did that?”

“The time for debate is over,” Brother Pete said. “Let's go.” He grabbed Beatrice Cambridge by the arm and pulled her from the couch. “Now we all have a hostage. “

“I don’t,” Tevin protested. “Why can’t I have one too?”

“Because you've already killed your plaything and let that boy get away from you,” Martin snapped. “Now move it along.” But Tevin scowled as Brother Pete forced Beatrice towards the door, Hector on his heels with Edrisa.

“It’s not fair,” Tevin said again, raising his axe. “I want-”

The shot rang out, dropping Tevin like a stone and Malcolm turned to look at his father. 

“What?” asked Martin. “You know how he gets. It’s better this way.”

Brother Pete shook his head before he looked at the rest of the Alderson family one final time. “If you try to follow us, that’s what will happen to you.”

* * *

Malcolm supposed it was a small mercy that they headed towards the servants entrance rather than the front door. He didn’t want to think what Hector would do if he stumbled across Dani, helpless and chained up on the stairs. At least she still had her phone on her, Malcolm thought, she’ll be able to get Gil up to speed before he even lands. 

The small narrow door opened out onto the back of the property and it was only a couple of hundred yards to the treeline. Beatrice was still openly weeping and Malcolm wanted to tell her she should try to stop because he didn’t like the way Hector was looking at her, but he was afraid it would only aggravate the situation further.

“Where are we going?” he asked.

“Well, as it happens this little island has a rather cute beach only a few hundred meters that way,” Martin said. “We laid anchor a little offshore.”

Of course they did, Malcolm thought, it would take a while for the NYPD to track down their anchor point, even from their air, and by that time they would be on their way. He glanced at Edrisa, she was grimly silent, which made Malcolm even more uneasy. Edrisa could be wildly unpredictable if you cornered her.

The trees thinned out and they stepped onto a narrow sandy strand. Just like Martin had said, the boat was anchored a few metres offshore and Malcolm spotted Burt's distinctive head as it popped up on the boats deck when they stepped out from under the trees. 

“Oh look, there is Burt,” Martin said, and promptly pulled out Dani’s gun again and shot him through the head. His father was a surprisingly good shot, it was one of the few things they truly had in common. 

“What the hell, Whitly,” Hector burst out and then promptly fell back onto the sand as his brain exploded from the bullet's impact. 

“What the hell are you doing?” Malcolm cried out. 

“Grab your friend, Malcolm, we’re leaving.” his father said coolly, training his gun on Brother Pete.

“This isn’t very sporting of you, Martin,” Brother Pete said, as he dragged Beatrice in front of him and backed into the waves. “I thought we had a deal.”

“Well, Brother Pete, I did warn you,” he said. “You should have let me go when I said we should part ways in the city but, oh no, you knew better.” His smile turned into a snarl as he pulled the trigger again and Beatrice slumped into the water. Malcolm ran for Edrisa as another bullet rang out, and Brother Pete fell onto his knees. 

“But you said you were a terrible shot,” he gasped. “That’s cheating.” He tumbled forward onto Beatrice’s body and Edrisa pulled Malcolm behind him just as his father swerved the gun in his direction. 

“Now, now, Malcolm,” he said. “Please move out of the way.”

“You’re not having her,” Malcolm said.

“Oh relax, boy, I’m not going to kill your friend. I just need a little safety net just in case the NYPD comes after us, and one of New York’s finest Medical Examiners fits the bill, don’t you think?”

“Aw, that's’ so sweet,” Edrisa said, from behind him, before her brain engaged. “Um, I mean, thanks but no thanks.”

The low vibration of a helicopter blade filled the air, and Malcolm let out a laugh of relief. “There is no _us_ , Dr Whitly You have only one decision. You either try and force me to go with you against my will and lose the precious moments you need to escape, or you run now and maintain your freedom. It’s your choice.” 

“Damn it son,” Martin spat out. “Why do you have to be so stubborn? You _know_ you belong with me. This life will never be what you truly need.”

“I beg to differ,” Malcolm said. “Goodbye, Dr Whitly.”

I was split second, but Malcolm could see the moment he chose to run. He leapt into the waves and Malcolm turned to watch him, careful to keep himself between his gun and Edrisa. 

“We’re not going to try and stop him?” Edrisa asked.

“He’s got a gun and he’s a good shot,” Malcolm said. “Let the professionals track him down”

The boat engine started up, and Malcolm watched his father push Burt’s body overboard before pulling up the anchor. He was already another few hundred meters out by the time the SWAT team poured onto the sand. 

Gil came to a swift stop as he took in the body on the sand as well as the two bodies in the waves. Edrisa squeezed his arm, crowding into his back as the SWATS team’s guns swung in their direction.

“Whoah,” Malcolm said, pointing out at the receding boat. “The guy with the gun went that way.”

“Lower your weapons,” Gil called out. “They’re with me.” But from the expression on his face, he knew he had a stern talking to in his future. Something told him it would go for a lot longer than a few minutes. 

He spotted Dani walk from the treeline, a grim expression on her face, JT was by her side, and there was almost an expression of pity on his face. Oh no, he was in trouble.

"This isn't gong to be pretty, is it?" he asked Gil.

"No, it isn't, kid."

* * *

Once again Malcolm had been sent home, and this time he had been told in no uncertain terms he was on probation. Although how you could put a consultant on probation, Malcolm really wasn't quite sure.

“Cheer up,” Ainsley, kicking at his ankle under the table. “It won’t be forever. Sooner or later they’ll catch him and you’ll be back at work, hunting killers again.

“It’s been a week, Ainsley,” Malcolm complained. “I think I might be going a little stir crazy.” Not to mention the fact Edrisa was the only one talking to him at the moment, and even that was a little strained. His phone buzzed and Malcolm hit the decline button when no ID popped up.

“It’s him, isn’t it?” Ainsley asked.

“Probably,” Malcolm admitted.

“Are you ever going to let him out of the dog house?”

“Ainsley, this isn’t a little thing like forgetting my birthday,” Malcolm said. “He killed six more people last week. 

“That we know of,” Ainsley said automatically.

“Exactly,” Malcolm said, standing up. “Listen, I’ve got to go. Tell Mother I’m sorry I couldn’t wait for her.”

“Oh no, no, no, no,” Ainsley protested. “You’re not leaving me alone with Mother again. Malcolm-”

But it was too late, he had already shut the front door after him.

The air was crisp as he shrugged on his overcoat, and he could almost ignore the low buzzing of his phone in his pocket.

He’d pick up eventually, he knew he would. In the end, the heart was always weak.

But not today.

THE END.

**Please excuse my typos, I'm a rubbish editor! I hope you enjoyed this, this was my first fic in the Prodigal Son fandom, and you know how sticky those can be!)**


End file.
